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3w ago

Trump Administration Defends Warrantless Arrest of Columbia Activist Mahmoud Khalil

Government lawyers claim exigent circumstances justified the arrest of Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist and legal U.S. resident, as legal battles over his detention escalate.

FILE - Student negotiator Mahmoud Khalil is seen at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the Columbia University campus in New York, April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
Mohsen Mahdawi, left, and Mahmoud Khalil participate in a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in New York.
Demonstrators hold a rally and march to the national ICE headquarters to protest the arrest of Palestinian activists, including Mahmoud Khalil n Washington, D.C., earlier this month. Photo: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images

Overview

  • The Department of Homeland Security has admitted that ICE agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil without a warrant on March 8, citing fears he might flee.
  • Khalil, a Syrian-born permanent resident and Columbia University graduate student, has been detained in Louisiana for six weeks and missed the birth of his first child.
  • The Trump administration argues Khalil's activism poses adverse foreign policy consequences, relying on a rarely used immigration provision and a determination by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
  • Khalil's attorneys dispute the flight-risk claim, citing video evidence and witness testimony showing he complied with agents during the arrest.
  • Parallel legal battles are ongoing, with Khalil's team seeking his release in New Jersey federal court while appealing a Louisiana judge's decision allowing deportation proceedings to continue.