US President Donald Trump has welcomed the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student who led pro-Palestinian protests on campus, calling it the “first arrest of many to come.”
Trump asserted on Monday (local time) that his administration would apprehend and deport “terrorist sympathizers” from the US, ensuring they “never return again.” He emphasized that more students across universities in the country had engaged in “pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity” and vowed to put an end to it.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated, “Following my previously signed Executive Orders, ICE proudly apprehended and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student on the campus of Columbia University. This is the first arrest of many to come. We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it.”
“Many are not students, they are paid agitators. We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country—never to return again. If you support terrorism, including the slaughtering of innocent men, women, and children, your presence is contrary to our national and foreign policy interests, and you are not welcome here. We expect every one of America’s Colleges and Universities to comply. Thank you,” he added.
Khalil was arrested by federal immigration authorities, acting on a State Department order to revoke his green card, according to his attorney.
In a significant legal development, a federal judge in New York has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting Khalil until a scheduled court conference on Wednesday, CNN reported.
“To preserve the Court’s jurisdiction pending a ruling on the petition, Petitioner shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court orders otherwise,” stated a court filing on Monday.
Khalil’s arrest marks a major escalation in the Trump administration’s crackdown on campus dissent, The Hill reported. Trump had previously pledged to target those participating in anti-Israel protests at universities, particularly demonstrations featuring antisemitic rhetoric.
In January, Trump signed an executive order aimed at combating antisemitism on college campuses and taking action against “Hamas sympathizers” among students. The order directed federal agencies to allocate resources to address antisemitism and required agencies to report legal actions taken against it.
The move comes amid a rise in antisemitic incidents on US college campuses following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which killed 1,100 Israelis. Israel’s subsequent military offensive in Gaza has resulted in over 40,000 Palestinian casualties and widespread destruction. The war has sparked protests across US universities, leading to more than 2,000 arrests in the past year.