A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said his arrest was in coordination with ICE and the State Department in support of Trump’s “executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism” and because Khalil “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” Trump and his administration did not provide evidence of the allegations against Khalil.
Last spring, he helped organize protests at the university about the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
Trump said on Truth Social that Khalil’s arrest was the first of many to come. In a post Sunday on X, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the administration would revoke the visas and green cards “of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.”
Greer said the comments made by Trump and government officials show the illegality of Khalil’s arrest.
“He was chosen as an example to stifle entirely lawful dissent in violation of the First Amendment,” she said in a statement Monday night. “
“While tomorrow or thereafter the government may cite the law or process, that toothpaste is out of the tube and irreversibly so,” Greer added. “The government’s objective is as transparent as it is unlawful, and our role as Mahmoud’s lawyers is to ensure it does not prevail.”
Hundreds of protesters rallied Monday at Federal Plaza in Manhattan, with some holding signs that read “Release Mahmoud Khalil.” One protester, a 71-year-old resident from Brooklyn, said the arrest was an attack on free speech.
“It’s getting ridiculous,” the protester said.
Greer said she talked to Khalil, and he was in good spirits and appreciative of the support. His wife, who is eight months pregnant, pleaded to have him by her side before the birth of their baby.
“For everyone reading this, I urge you to see Mahmoud through my eyes as a loving husband and the future father to our baby,” she said in a statement released by Greer.
She called him her “rock,” and said everyone who has met him “can attest to his incredible character, humbleness, selflessness, and his love for helping others.”
“I need your help to bring Mahmoud home, so he is here beside me, holding my hand in the delivery room as we welcome our first child into this world,” she said.
