By JAKE OFFENHARTZ, Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — A video released Friday shows the moment federal immigration agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate student whose detention alarmed free-speech advocates.
The clip begins with at least three agents confronting Khalil in the lobby of his apartment building near the Columbia campus Saturday night. The agents inform him that he is “going to be under arrest,” then order him to “turn around” and “stop resisting.”
“There’s no need for this,” Khalil replies calmly as they place him in handcuffs. “I’m going with you. No worries.”
As his wife, Noor Abdalla, cries out in protest, asking in Arabic: “My love, how can I call you?” Khalil assures her that he will be fine and instructs her to call his lawyer.
Abdalla, an American citizen who is eight months pregnant, then asks the agents to identify themselves. “We don’t give our names,” one replies.
The video was released by Khalil’s attorneys the same day the Justice Department announced it was investigating whether the university concealed “illegal aliens” on its campus.
Khalil is a lawful U.S. resident with no criminal history. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he revoked Khalil’s permission to be in the U.S. because of his role in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia, saying they had riled up “anti-Jewish” sentiment and amounted to support for Hamas, the group that controls Gaza and attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has warned that the attempted deportation will be the “first of many” of people who joined protests against Israel’s military action in Gaza.
Federal officials announced Friday that they had arrested another woman tied to protests outside Columbia University and revoked the visa of a Columbia University doctoral student, who then left the country.
Khalil’s wife, Abdalla, described his arrest as “the most terrifying moment of my life” in a statement accompanying the video. She said the arrest happened as the couple were returning home from an Iftar celebration.
“They threatened to take me too,” she said.
The arrests have triggered fear among international students at Columbia and been condemned by free speech groups, which accuse the Trump administration of seeking to criminalize political dissent.
Khalil’s lawyers have challenged his detention in court.
