Trump defends arrest of Palestinian student protestor, warns of more arrests

US President Donald Trump on Monday defended the arrest of a Palestinian student protestor at Columbia University, calling it “the first arrest of many to come”.

Trump said Mahmoud Khalil, whom he described as a “foreign pro-Hamas student,” was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in accordance with executive orders he had signed.

“We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it,” he wrote.

He accused pro-Palestinian student protesters of being “paid agitators” and warned that his administration would “find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again.”

However, according to Khalil's lawyer Amy Greer, he was “wrongfully arrested” by ICE agents who claimed his student visa was revoked -- even though Mahmoud is a legal permanent resident (green card) and not in the US on a student visa.

"We will vigorously be pursuing Mahmoud's rights in court, and will continue our efforts to right this terrible and inexcusable – and calculated – wrong committed against him," Greer said in a statement.

She accused the US government of specifically targeting students at Columbia University for criticism of Israel's assault on Gaza.

“The US government has made clear that they will use immigration enforcement as a tool to suppress that speech,” she said.

Writers Against the War on Gaza (WAWOG) said Khalil was arrested Saturday night at his university-owned residence in New York by plainclothes DHS agents who forced their way in. The agents initially claimed his student visa had been revoked but changed their claim to his green card being revoked after his wife, a US citizen who is eight months pregnant, showed them his green card.

Columbia was a focal point of last year's campus encampments, which led to arrests and disciplinary actions against students, raising concerns about free speech on American campuses.

On Wednesday, pro-Palestinian demonstrators occupied the Milstein Library at Barnard College to protest the college's decision to expel a third student for campus activism in support of Palestine.

Although Barnard College is a separate institution, it maintains an affiliation with Columbia University.

On Friday, the Trump administration announced the cancellation of approximately $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia, citing the university's alleged failure to address anti-Semitism amid ongoing pro-Palestine protests.