Acting Columbia University President Claire Shipman was repeatedly met with a loud chorus of boos and “Free Mahmoud!” chants as the school held graduation ceremonies this week.
Roughly 80 protesters were arrested Wednesday after occupying a library on Columbia University’s campus. The Trump administration is stepping up actions against student protesters as Gaza encampments are starting to spread once again across the U.S.
A federal judge in Vermont ordered Mohsen Mahdawi be released from detention and compared the administration’s crackdown on dissent to the Red Scare. Upon his release, Mahdawi declared, “To President Trump and his cabinet: I am not afraid of you.”
On the same day ICE posted a social media graphic saying it is working to keep “illegal” ideas out of the US, a Louisiana immigration judge ruled the Trump administration could deport Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil for opposing the Gaza genocide.
The Trump administration’s push to deport Mahmoud Khalil is based solely on an accusation of “antisemitism,” according to a two-page memo signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and revealed by the Associated Press.
The Trump administration has reportedly revoked hundreds of student visas amid a widening crackdown on the U.S. Palestine movement, with one attorney estimating as many as 1,000 visas have been canceled at universities across the country.
“Rather than silence dissent, the government’s actions have only emboldened voices demanding that basic rights be respected here, in Palestine, and beyond,” says CUNY CLEAR attorney Mudassar Toppa.
The Trump administration’s extraordinary and unprecedented move to effectively expel South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool was done for one reason: South Africa had the audacity to hold Israel accountable for the Gaza genocide.
Columbia University issued suspensions, expulsions, and temporary degree revocations to students connected to the April 2024 occupation of Hamilton Hall, as ICE agents reportedly arrested a second Palestinian Columbia student on Friday.
In a hearing in New York City on Wednesday, Mahmoud Khalil’s attorney’s said they have not been allowed to have contact with him since his detention. Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s rationale for detaining Khalil continues to change.