Detention of Mahmoud Khalil

Summary

The detention of Mahmoud Khalil was the US federal government's incarceration and attempted deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a student at Columbia University and a lead negotiator of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment during the Gaza war and genocide. On March 8, 2025, plainclothes US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents took Khalil—who had not been accused of, charged with, or convicted of any crime—from his Columbia residential apartment building in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of New York City. The agents did not have a warrant and were acting on orders from the State Department to revoke Khalil's student visa. When the agents were informed that Khalil is a lawful permanent resident, they said that status would be revoked instead. By March 10, ICE had transported Khalil to its LaSalle Detention Center in Jena, Louisiana, where he was held until being released on bail on June 20.