Overview

• Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian-American activist and Columbia University graduate, was arrested without a warrant on March 8 under a rarely used immigration law citing 'flight risk.'
• Newly released security footage obtained via subpoena shows Khalil calmly cooperating with ICE agents during his arrest, undermining government claims that he was uncooperative or attempting to flee.
• Khalil’s legal team argues the arrest was unconstitutional and retaliatory, tied to his pro-Palestinian activism, as part of a broader crackdown on campus dissent by the Trump administration.
• The administration has maintained that Khalil’s beliefs pose a national security threat, though no criminal charges have been filed against him.
• Khalil remains detained in a Louisiana ICE facility as he prepares for a May 22 court hearing to contest his deportation and challenge the government’s justification for his arrest.