Who is Mahmoud Khalil? Palestinian activist detained by ICE over Columbia University protests

Mahmoud Khalil, a 29-year-old legal resident of the United States, was arrested and detained by federal agents Sunday, after his green card was revoked by the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump has likened Mahmoud Khalil to a terrorist sympathizer. Others portray him as a Palestinian activist, singled out for his outspoken support for his own people. But long before he was arrested by federal agents Saturday night, Khalil told CNN he felt called to advocate for the liberation of both the Palestinian and Jewish people as a refugee. “As a Palestinian student, I believe that the liberation of the Palestinian people and the Jewish people are intertwined and go hand-by-hand and you cannot achieve one without the other,” he told CNN last spring when he was one of the negotiators representing student demonstrators during talks with Columbia University’s administration. “Our movement is a movement for social justice and freedom and equality for everyone,” he said. Khalil, who completed work on his masters degree from Columbia University in December and is a legal resident of the US, was arrested and detained by federal agents after his lawyer said his green card was revoked by the Trump administration. His attorney, Amy Greer, said Khalil’s wife, who is an American citizen, was also present during his arrest and is eight months pregnant.