Federal immigration agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil last month without a warrant, and in recent court filings, they defended their actions, claiming the arrest was legal.
Khalil, a key figure in the anti-Israel protests at Columbia University last year, was arrested in his university apartment in New York City.
The Trump administration is seeking to deport him, citing his involvement in the protests. According to Khalil’s lawyer, Amy Greer, agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), told Khalil that they were revoking his green card and student visa before taking him to a detention center in Louisiana.
In documents submitted to a New Jersey court, a Homeland Security attorney explained that when agents approached Khalil on March 8 and asked him to cooperate for identification purposes, Khalil refused, stating he would leave the scene. At this point, the supervisory agent believed Khalil posed a flight risk and decided to arrest him.
However, Khalil’s legal team disputes this version of events. They claim that Khalil’s wife entered their apartment to retrieve his Green Card, and it was then that the agents arrested him.
They argue that the Trump administration has failed to provide evidence that Khalil refused to cooperate during his arrest.
Greer, who was on the phone with Khalil and the arresting agent, emphasized that Khalil remained calm and complied with all instructions, even though agents never showed an arrest warrant. Video footage released by Khalil’s wife also shows him being cooperative during the arrest.
Greer criticized the government’s actions, stating, “Today, we now know why they never showed Mahmoud that warrant — they didn’t have one.” She called the arrest an unjust attempt by the Trump administration to detain Khalil, whom she described as a “political prisoner.”
The Department of Homeland Security had earlier justified the arrest, stating it was necessary for national security, claiming that Khalil was involved in activities aligned with Hamas, a designated terrorist group. Khalil was an outspoken leader in protests against Israel, where he served as a spokesperson for Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a student group urging the university to divest from Israel. Despite his role in the protests, Khalil has not been charged with any crime.
An immigration judge has already ruled that Khalil can be deported due to his involvement in the protests, citing the U.S. government’s evidence. Khalil’s lawyers are currently appealing this decision.
Marc Van Der Hout, a lawyer representing Khalil, expressed shock at the government’s recent filing, which revealed that no arrest warrant had ever been issued.
Van Der Hout called this “egregious conduct” and argued that it should result in the termination of the deportation proceedings. He added, “It is completely outrageous that they tried to assert to the immigration judge — and the world — in their initial filing of the arrest report that there was an arrest warrant when there was none.”
Khalil, who completed his requirements for a master’s degree at Columbia in December, has faced a turbulent few weeks.
His wife, a U.S. citizen, recently gave birth to their child, but ICE denied Khalil’s request for temporary release to attend the birth. As a result, he missed this important family event.
Khalil’s arrest has sparked protests, including a mass demonstration at Trump Tower, where nearly 100 people were arrested.
The case has also become emblematic of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to detain and deport foreign nationals involved in political protests on college campuses.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the decision to arrest Khalil, accusing him of distributing pro-Hamas propaganda on campus.
Leavitt reiterated the administration’s stance, saying, “This administration is not going to tolerate individuals having the privilege of studying in our country and then siding with pro-terrorist organizations that have killed Americans.” She emphasized the administration’s “zero-tolerance policy” towards individuals linked to terrorism.
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