A US federal judge has blocked the deportation of prominent Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil amid Donald Trump's administration's crackdown on students protesting Israel's genocidal acts in Gaza.
Protesters gathered in New York City on Monday afternoon pushing for Khalil's release as Trump warned his by federal immigration authorities is the first "of many to come".
As a student at Columbia University last spring, Khalil helped organise protests against Israel's genocide of Gaza.
Khalil's lawyer, Amy Greer, said in a statement that he was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents Saturday night, with his student visa revoked. Khalil is understood to still be a green card holder.
Greer has filed a petition on Khalil's behalf challenging his arrest and detention, while District Judge Jesse Furman blocked Khalil's deportation on Monday and scheduled a Wednesday conference to discuss the petition.
Furman wrote: "If counsel do not believe a conference is required, and that briefing is appropriate, counsel should propose a briefing schedule (expedited or otherwise) in the joint letter.
"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."
Greer also said authorities had threatened to arrest Khalil's wife, who is a US citizen and eight months pregnant.
"We will vigorously be pursuing Mahmoud's rights in court, and will continue our efforts to right this terrible and inexcusable — and calculated — wrong committed against him," Greer said.
"ICE's arrest and detention of Mahmoud follows the US government's open repression of student activism and political speech, specifically targeting students at Columbia University for criticism of Israel's assault on Gaza. The US government has made clear that they will use immigration enforcement as a tool to suppress that speech."
The president wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social that his administration "will not tolerate" what he said is "pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American" activity on college campuses.
He claimed protests are being waged by "paid agitators" rather than students.
The American Civil Liberties Union condemned Khalil's arrest, calling it "unprecedented, illegal and un-American," and urged the Trump administration to release him.
Ben Wizner, director of its Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, said in a statement: "The federal government is claiming the authority to deport people with deep ties to the US 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."
