President Donald Trump’s directives on antisemitism have brought a Syrian-born leader of a violent pro-Hamas protest into custody, stripped of
President Donald Trump’s directives on antisemitism have brought a Syrian-born leader of a violent pro-Hamas protest into custody, stripped of his residency.
Immigration authorities arrested Syrian-born Mahmoud Khalil on Sunday after his involvement in a student encampment at Columbia University, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation. Khalil’s career path spanned several Western-funded institutions before he became an advocate for students illegally occupying campus buildings multiple times, leading to calls to remove him from the country.
“We commend the Trump administration for commencing deportations,” pro-Israel activist group Betar US told the DCNF. Betar previously gave Trump’s officials a list of foreign college students, faculty and staff, suggesting they revoke their visas for supporting terrorism. Khalil’s name was one of at least 120 on Betar’s list, the group confirmed.
“We are glad at this step although much more is needed,” Betar spokesperson Daniel Levy said.
The New York-based law firm defending Khalil did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
Khalil dubbed himself the “lead negotiator” for Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a group on the front lines of an illegal encampment last April that saw protesters occupying a school building, assaulting Jewish students, praising Hamas’s Oct.
