ACLU Strongly Condemns Unlawful Arrest and Detention of Columbia Student Activist

On Saturday night, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents detained Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student at Columbia University and one of the lead negotiators on behalf of pro-Palestine protesters at the Gaza solidarity encampment in spring 2024. Mr. Khalil, a U.S. green card holder, was detained in New York while returning from an iftar dinner with his wife, who is currently eight months pregnant. He was later put on a plane and sent to a detention facility in Louisiana without notice to his attorney or family.

Hours after Mr. Khalil’s detention was made public, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated: “We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.”

The following is a statement from Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project:

“This arrest is unprecedented, illegal, and un-American. The federal government is claiming the authority to deport people with deep ties to the U.S. and revoke their green cards for advocating positions that the government opposes. To be clear: The First Amendment protects everyone in the U.S. The government’s actions are obviously intended to intimidate and chill speech on one side of a public debate. The government must immediately return Mr. Khalil to New York, release him back to his family, and reverse course on this discriminatory policy.”