The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Friday released the full video of Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest last weekend as outrage grows over his detention by immigration officials.
Khalil was arrested by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Saturday after playing a leading role in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia last year.
The roughly eight-minute video, which was taken by Khalil’s wife Noor Abdalla, shows ICE agents handcuffing him and leading him out of his university-owned apartment. Abdalla then calls his lawyer and follows the agents outside.
When asked for their names by Abdalla in the video, the agents refuse to give them, but provide the address they say they were taking Khalil to. The video then shows the agents driving away.
He was taken to a detention center in New Jersey on Saturday before being transported to a facility in Louisiana.
When asked for comment on the video, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told The Hill in a statement, “It is a privilege to be granted a visa to live and study in the United States of America.”
“When you advocate for violence and terrorism that privilege should be revoked and should not be in this country,” McLaughlin added.
Khalil, who is an Algerian citizen of Palestinian descent, is a legal permanent resident of the U.S. in the country on a green card. Abdalla is a U.S. citizen.
Khalil’s lawyers wrote in court filings on Friday that he felt like he was being kidnapped during his detainment.
“Throughout this process, Mr. Khalil felt as though he was being kidnapped. He was reminded of prior experience fleeing arbitrary detention in Syria and forced disappearance of his friends in Syria in 2013,” his lawyers wrote in court filings.
“It was shortly after this that Mr. Khalil left Syria. At no time throughout this process did any of the agents identify themselves.”
More than 100 House Democrats sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding an explanation for Khalil’s arrest.
The Trump administration has moved to revoke Khalil’s greencard, claiming he has advocated for Hamas, which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization. A federal judge blocked efforts to deport Khalil, who has not been charged with a crime, amid the ongoing court deliberations.
On Wednesday, Rubio told reporters at a press briefing that the U.S. has the right to deny visas for “virtually any reason.”
“If you tell us, when you apply, ‘Hi, I’m trying to get into the United States on a student visa, I am a big supporter of Hamas, a murderous, barbaric group that kidnaps children, that rapes teenage girls, that takes hostages, that allows them to die in captivity, that returns more bodies than live hostages,’” he said. “If you tell us that you are in favor of a group like this, and if you tell us, when you apply for your visa, and by the way, ‘I intend to come to your country as a student and rile up all kinds of anti-Jewish student, antisemitic activities, I intend to shut down your universities.”
Khalil’s attorneys said there is no evidence he has provided support to any terror organization.
