White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Tuesday that former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil is currently undergoing deportation proceedings for allegedly distributing “pro-Hamas propaganda flyers.” Khalil was arrested on Saturday by Department of Homeland Security officials.
His arrest came after he emerged a central figure in the crackdown on alleged antisemitic activities by foreign nationals on college campuses. According to Khalil’s attorney, Amy Greer, he was inside his university-owned apartment just a few blocks from campus when authorities entered and arrested him. However, the specific reason he was chosen as the first target was not immediately revealed. It was also not immediately clear when he will be deported.
Preparing to Leave America
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“The secretary of state has the right to revoke a green card or a visa for individuals who serve or are adversarial to the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States of America,” Leavitt said at her regular briefing.
“And Mahmoud Khalil was an individual who was given the privilege of coming to this country to study at one of our nation’s finest universities and colleges. And he took advantage of that opportunity, of that privilege by siding with terrorists, Hamas terrorists who have killed innocent men, women and children.”
Leavitt added: “This is an individual who organized group protests that not only disrupted college campus classes and harassed Jewish American students and made them feel unsafe on their own college campus, but also distributed pro-Hamas propaganda flyers with the logo of Hamas.”
“That is what the behavior and activity that this individual engaged in. And I have those flyers on my desk. They were provided to me by the Department of Homeland Security,” Leavitt said.
“I thought about bringing them into this briefing room to share with all of you, but I didn’t think it was worth the dignity of this room to bring that pro– amount of propaganda, but that’s what this individual distributed on the campus of Columbia University, and this administration is not going to tolerate individuals … studying in our country and siding with pro-terrorist organizations that have killed Americans. We have a zero tolerance policy for siding with terrorists here.”
Punished for His Actions
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According to Greer, an ICE agent said that the agency was acting on a State Department order to cancel Khalil’s student visa and green card. This move aligns with President Trump’s recent commitment to deport foreign students accused of inciting campus disruptions.
The action comes just days after Trump vowed to cut all federal funding to educational institutions that permit “illegal protests” and to expose and even imprison those instigating unrest.
The president issued the warning as disruptive pro-Hamas demonstrations have erupted on college campuses nationwide.
His administration has also vowed to revoke over $50 million in government contracts from Columbia University, accusing the Ivy League institution of failing to take action against anti-Israel protests on its campus.
Separately, reports surfaced last week that the State Department is planning to use artificial intelligence (AI) to identify foreign nationals in the United States who show support for Hamas, with the goal of revoking their visas.
The initiative—called “Catch and Revoke”—will involve officials reviewing social media activity of foreign students on visas to determine if there is any indication of Hamas sympathies following the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack, Axios reported.
