What to know about the immigration arrest of recent Columbia grad Mahmoud Khalil

The immigration detention of recent Columbia University graduate and activist Mahmoud Khalil raises legal questions about free speech protections for noncitizens and could also have ramifications for speech beyond campus settings, immigration law practitioners and experts said.

“What’s at stake is bigger than an immigration issue,” said Kendal Nystedt, the legal director of UnLocal, a nonprofit legal services provider in New York. “If the federal government is not concerned about protecting protected First Amendment political speech, there's no reason to believe that they wouldn't take different, but equally concerning actions against U.S. citizens.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested Khalil, a permanent resident of the United States, on Sunday at his university-owned housing near campus, claiming that his green card had been revoked, according to court documents. The arrest came just days after the Trump administration revoked $400 million in federal funding for Columbia, citing “relentless violence, intimidation, and antisemitic harassment” on campus.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman ordered the government not to deport Khalil “unless and until the Court orders otherwise.” A federal judge held a hearing in the case Wednesday, but made no ruling.

President Donald Trump and administration officials said the arrest was warranted because Khalil supported Hamas, a Palestinian group designated as a terrorist organization by the United States. Khalil, who completed his master’s degree in December, has been a prominent student activist in local pro-Palestinian protests over the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. His lawyers say he has never been charged or convicted with a crime.

While a number of elected officials and advocacy groups have called for Khalil’s release, contending he was unlawfully detained, Trump has warned of more arrests to follow.

"This is the first arrest of many to come,” Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social, adding that he would crack down on other university students “who have engaged in pro-terrorist, antisemitic, anti-American activity.”

And in a post on the social media platform X, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, "we will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.”

Here’s what to know now about Khalil’s arrest, green cardholders, and how the case could have influence beyond Columbia’s campus in Upper Manhattan.

What’s a green card?

It's a colloquial term for what's officially known as a Permanent Resident Card, which allows an immigrant to permanently live and work in the United States.

Applicants are eligible to apply for a green card through their family, job, or after being granted asylum or refugee status, among other avenues.

After applying, the processing time for a green card can take months or years. But it’s a highly coveted status, given that it confers greater rights than temporary immigration protections — just short of the rights granted to U.S. citizens.

The Department of Homeland Security estimates that about 39.5 million people have entered the United States and become green cardholders since 1980.

Why was Khalil detained?

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin charged in a statement following the arrest that "Khalil led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization," but offered no support for the claim.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt elaborated during a press conference on Tuesday, claiming Khalil organized protests where he distributed pro-Hamas propaganda.

A lawyer for Khalil, Samah Sisay, declined to comment on Khalil’s alleged support of Hamas.

“Any activity in support of Palestinians and ending Israel’s killing of Palestinians in Gaza has been labeled pro-Hamas,” Sisay said.

Can green cardholders get deported?

Though legal permanent residents enjoy many of the same protections granted to U.S. citizens, they can still be deported, usually if they commit a crime, immigration lawyers say.

Khalil’s attorneys say he has never been charged with or convicted of a crime.

In justifying Khalil’s detention, Trump administration officials have invoked what immigration experts say is a rarely used provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Under federal law, noncitizens can be deported if the secretary of state “has reasonable ground to believe (the person) would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”

“That’s just not very common,” said immigration attorney Neal Datta. “ I've never had a client in 32 years who was put into removal proceedings for foreign policy grounds.”

“This case  is going to involve testing exactly how broad that power is,” Datta added.

Immigration lawyers in interviews acknowledged the government’s sweeping authority to deport noncitizens, but said the law still provides due process protections for noncitizens.

What should non-citizens know moving forward?

Khalil’s arrest could have a chilling effect on on- and off-campus protests involving people who aren’t citizens, said Columbia University immigration law professor Elora Mukherjee. Already, she said, it had provoked panic and fear among immigrant students on campus.

She and other attorneys emphasized that all residents in the United States have free speech protections under the First Amendment, and due process protections under the Fifth Amendment.

”The question (of the case) is whether speaking out in support of an organization, which is within the First Amendment, somehow violates the immigration statute,” said Stephen Yale-Loehr, a retired Cornell immigration law professor.

The attorneys advised that visa and green cardholders should consider the potential immigration ramifications of their actions before attending and speaking out at certain protests.

“ It's just very troubling that the government can be so nakedly open about the fact that they're targeting people because of their speech,” said immigration attorney Paul O’Dwyer.

This article was updated with additional information about a federal court hearing in the case on Wednesday.