Gov. Hochul and Mayor Adams won't weigh in on arrest of pro-Palestinian Columbia protester

Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams have refused to weigh in on the federal arrest of a pro-Palestinian activist who was involved in the protests at Columbia University last year.

Their hesitance starkly contrasts with the reactions of many of their fellow Democrats, including several of Adams’ mayoral challengers, who have argued that the Trump administration’s arrest of Mahmoud Khalil is illegal and undermines free speech. Federal immigration authorities arrested Khalil, who holds a green card, over the weekend under what President Donald Trump has called a crackdown on antisemitic protests on college and university campuses. They said Khalil “led activities aligned to Hamas,” but have not charged him with a crime.

“In this particular case, the facts are not clear,” Hochul told reporters Tuesday at the state Capitol in Albany. “The facts are just not well-known in terms of what ICE may know about this individual that I don't know, what other facts are out there.”

On the same day, Adams repeatedly declined to offer his opinion on Khalil’s arrest and what it might mean for other New Yorkers who engage in protests.

“That’s not my job,” Adams said at City Hall. “I must make sure the city's safe, and I cannot say it enough: ICE handles who's deported and who's not deported. Not the mayor of New York.”

Their reluctance to criticize an arrest that many other Democrats found alarming reinforced perceptions that Hochul and Adams are fiercely pro-Israel. Khalil played a prominent role in Columbia’s protests over the Israel-Hamas war, which the governor and mayor have both condemned, arguing that they gave rise to increased antisemitism on campus. At the same time, they have come under scrutiny for not being equally vocal about Islamophobia and expressing sympathy for civilians in Gaza.

Other leading Democrats in New York said the incident was a concerning escalation by Trump, noting that Khalil’s wife is an American and eight months pregnant. Khalil, who graduated from Columbia in the spring, is currently being held at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Louisiana while he awaits a judge’s decision on whether the government’s arrest was illegal.

State Attorney General Letitia James said her office has been in contact with Khalil’s attorney and is “monitoring the situation.”

“I am extremely concerned about the arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil, an advocate and legal permanent resident of Palestinian descent,” James posted on X.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also issued a statement that called on the Department of Homeland Security to produce evidence that Khalil had committed a crime.

“To the extent his actions were inconsistent with Columbia University policy and created an unacceptable hostile academic environment for Jewish students and others, there is a serious university disciplinary process that can handle the matter,” Jeffries said.

He said that without any evidence, the arrest was “wildly inconsistent with the United States Constitution.”

The issue could shape the mayoral race, where candidates have sought to walk a careful line between condemning antisemitism and protecting First Amendment rights as the Israel-Hamas war has fractured Democrats between progressives who tend to sympathize with the Palestinian cause and those who are more pro-Israel.

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who polls show is the frontrunner in the mayoral primary, at first avoided commenting on the arrest. His spokesperson Rich Azzopardi sent a statement from the former governor on Wednesday.

“The fear and terror stoked by many organizers on campus property against their Jewish classmates — in some cases condoning and supporting the terrorist organization Hamas, destroying personal and public property and harassing Jewish students is - and let’s call it by its name - Antisemitism, and I unequivocally condemn it," read the statement from Cuomo. The statement stressed the importance of constitutional rights and urged the federal government to clarify its motive and evidence, adding, "The rule of law matters and we must never forget that regardless of the political view expressed however abhorrent.”

Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, one of Cuomo's mayoral competitors, criticized Cuomo's initial silence and eventual statement. On Sunday Mamdani called the arrest “a blatant assault on the First Amendment.”

"113 words and I still have no idea if he's calling for Trump's ICE to release the New Yorker they detained without charges," Mamdani wrote Wednesday in reference to Cuomo's statement.

Other candidates joined Mamdani in condemning Khalil’s arrest.

City Comptroller Brad Lander called Khalil’s arrest “an unconstitutional and egregious violation of the First Amendment, and a frightening weaponization of immigration law.”

Lander then added that although he disagreed strongly with statements made during Columbia protests led by Khalil, deporting him “will not make Jews – or any of us — safer.”

Former Comptroller Scott Stringer similarly distanced himself from the Columbia protesters' “tactics and rhetoric,” but said it was “absolutely absurd for the government to arrest people they don’t agree with.”

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who launched her mayoral campaign over the weekend, said on X that Khalil’s arrest was “blatant authoritarianism” and “a civil rights issue.”

“It should concern every American and cannot be allowed to stand,” she added.

In her exchange with reporters on Tuesday, Hochul denounced antisemitism — which she said includes “harassing students, vandalizing property or praising Hamas and terrorist organizations.” But she also said federal immigration enforcers should be focusing their efforts on “dangerous criminals.”

She didn’t say which camp she believes Khalil falls into.

“Did he break the law, not break the law? Or is this political punishment?” Hochul said. “I don't know that answer right now because I just do not have all the facts.”

The governor continued: “I'm waiting to see what the judge says about this.”

Hochul did condemn the Trump administration’s move to strip Columbia of $400 million in federal funding, including some research grants.

”Yes, we can condemn,” Hochul said. “Yes, there can be consequences. But don't take money that is helping a lot of people who were never involved in what is being targeted now.”

Adams, who is awaiting a decision on whether his corruption charges will be dropped, said he did not see the value of giving his opinion on what many see as a matter of public importance. He said later he had not read or listened to the news in the last four weeks. Instead, he said he is relying on briefings from his staff.

“So they give me enough for me to understand without me having to digest all that junk food,” he said, referring to the news. “And I am like, just so at peace.”

This story has been updated with additional information.