ICE Arrests Palestinian Activist and Marco Rubio Launches “Catch and Revoke” Program

ICE Arrests Mahmoud Khalil in Enforcement of Trump Order

Columbia University grad student and Palestinian activist, Mahmoud Khalil, was arrested by ICE in his university apartment this past Saturday. Khalil is a legal resident and green card holder, married to a US citizen who is 8 months pregnant.

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Khalil’s arrest was part of Trump’s pledge to detain and deport student visa holders in his recent executive order combating antisemitism on college campuses.

Khalil was a negotiator for students during their meetings with Columbia University officials to discuss an end to the student protest encampment erected on campus last spring. Khalil’s visibility as an important student activist brought him to the attention of pro-Israel activists who called on the Trump administration to deport him. Khalil was also under investigation from the university along with other pro-Palestine student activists.

Trump’s “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism”

In a recent executive order, Trump has made it the policy of the US to use all available legal tools to combat antisemitism on college campuses.

As part of this initiative, Trump aims to familiarize institutions of higher education with “grounds for inadmissibility under 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3) so that such institutions may monitor for and report activities by alien students and staff” (See Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism).

While schools are not required to turn over any information on their students to government authorities at this time, this executive order enables institutions to collaborate with Trump’s anti-immigrant and anti-Palestinian policies and threatens the First Amendment right of Palestinian activists. This could result in the investigation and potential detention or deportation of international students or noncitizen staff.

Trump Equates Pro-Palestinian Advocacy with Terrorism

8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3) lists many grounds that an immigrant should be denied a visa and admission into the US, including suspicions of engaging in or endorsing terrorist activities and associating with terrorist organizations.

In the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, many members of the US government (Republicans and Democrats) falsely portrayed student movements calling for a ceasefire and an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza as “sympathizing with terrorists” and being “pro Hamas.” In a fact sheet released alongside his executive order, Trump doubles down on this false depiction.

Trump warns: “To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you. I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.”

Khalil’s Arrest Raises Due Process Concerns

This arrest is the first known arrest as part of Trump’s student crackdown. It is unclear as to whether ICE presented a warrant before entering university property as required. As they took Khalil into custody, ICE agents also threatened to arrest his wife who is an American citizen.

While the State Department initially aimed to revoke his student visa, when they learned that Khalil was a green card holder they opted to revoke this instead. It is unclear what Khalil has been charged with and his attorney was only recently able to locate him in a detention facility in Louisiana. A New York judge has temporarily blocked Khalil’s deportation until a conference on March 12th.

The way in which ICE carried out Khalil’s arrest raises concerns for due process and First Amendment rights of student activists. Khalil’s case is the first example of how government agencies are interpreting Trump’s claims of students “sympathizing with Hamas.” If the case against Khalil is successful, it will signal what a broader campaign against students might look like.

“Catch and Revoke” Program Paves Way for Future Crackdown

Another aspect of enforcing Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestine student activists is Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s AI-assisted “Catch and Revoke” program.

This program will use AI to review thousands of student visa holder social media accounts in an effort to cancel the visas of those found to have “sympathized with terrorists” after Hamas’ October 7th attack.

Along with the arrest of Khalil, the “Catch and Revoke” program demonstrates commitment to an intensified crackdown on student visa holders for their political beliefs. Future arrests based on flagging by AI is especially concerning due to the fact that the technology can often be faulty. This is yet another threat to the due process and First Amendment rights of student activists.

While the Lemkin Institute continues to report on important immigration policy changes, we cannot offer individualized legal advice.

If you think you may be affected by policy changes, please contact an immigration lawyer.