Mahmoud Khalil's arrest and the criminalization of pro-Palestinian activism

By Cristina Gutiérrez

Last weekend, Palestinian student at Columbia University in New York, Mahmoud Khalil , was arrested at his home by federal immigration agents. Khalil, who is a U.S. green card holder and married to a U.S. citizen, was detained and has been threatened with deportation because of his involvement in protests on campus last year against the war in Gaza.

The war between Israel and Hamas put Columbia University and its students in the national and international spotlight as pro-Palestinian demonstrations spread to dozens of universities in the United States. The student protests that took place across the country, with Columbia University as the epicenter, denounced Israel's excesses during the war in Gaza and the United States' unconditional support for that country. Mahmoud Khalil, who was a graduate student, played a key role in the student protests at Columbia, being one of the main negotiators representing the student protesters during talks with the university administration. 

President Donald Trump, who has vowed to take punitive measures against pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses, called this arrest "the first of many to come." Trump described Khalil as a pro-Hamas foreign radical for his activism and involvement in protests against the war in Gaza, as if speaking out and denouncing the crimes Israel has committed is a crime in itself.