Following the days when immigration officials arrested a supporter of Palestinian rights on campus The director of the Immigrants' Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School has received numerous queries from students looking for straightforward information.
"I've provided individual guidance to students about decisions such as traveling overseas, deciding what to post on social media, and determining whether they should join a protest," stated Elora Mukherjee, who is both a clinical law professor and the clinic director.
Actions that we took for granted just seven days ago are now subjects of inquiry for students: Should I engage in this activity? Should I participate in that one? What are the potential risks?
Last weekend saw the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian refugee The revocation of an individual's green card due to their participation in protests at Columbia University has created a chilling atmosphere on college campuses throughout America. Students report feeling compelled to exercise considerable caution when utilizing their constitutional right to free expression.
This situation establishes a frightening precedent for all students, with special concern for international students, especially those holding visas and green cards. However, I believe every student ought to feel alarmed," stated Zaid, a UC Berkeley student who requested anonymity due to potential backlash. "If Khalil faces deportation, what implications does this have for the whole country and our First Amendment rights? And which community might become the subsequent target?
At Columbia, which has nearly 24,000 international students, Mukherjee said the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic is advising concerned students to keep a low profile to avoid the attention of the Trump administration.
Both international students along with those who are undocumented or possess uncertain immigration statuses "are currently living in fear of potential consequences for themselves," she stated.
"These seem like extremely perilous times. I'm urging students to consider elements that might place them at greater risk and am motivating and attempting to equip individuals with the confidence to make choices that will serve their lives best," Mukherjee stated.
For certain individuals, this involves avoiding social media altogether. For others, expressing themselves through these platforms is integral to who they are, and they choose to accept the associated dangers. However, my main point is that there are now hazards that could not have been anticipated before.
Fears of 'knock-on impact' on upcoming students
President Donald Trump characterized Khalil via social media as a "radical individual with allegiance to Hamas" who participated in "activities supporting terrorism, displaying antisemitism and opposition to America." He cautioned that this detainment marks "the beginning of numerous arrests yet to occur."
Khalil, who completed his master’s degree from Columbia in December, is married to an American citizen who is eight months pregnant. A federal judge in New York has temporarily blocked his deportation and he remains in ICE custody in Louisiana. Trump said he would be stripped of his green card and deported. He has not been charged with any crime.
The government’s case has “no basis in law,” Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union and part of his legal team, told Pawonation.comon Friday. She said Khalil was essentially kidnapped “based on an accusation that he has the wrong political ideas, and he has expressed them.” She called his detention “an attempt to bully the universities into submission” and “intimidate” students and faculty from speaking out.
On Thursday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) apprehended an additional individual participating in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia Citing immigration violations associated with an expired visa, Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian from the West Bank, saw her visa revoked in January 2022 due to insufficient attendance. Last year, she was apprehended by local authorities for participating in "pro-Hamas demonstrations," according to statements made by the Department of Homeland Security. Additionally, another Columbia University student chose to leave voluntarily and moved to Canada, as mentioned by the relevant department.
Although Columbia and its students have thus far been the focus, worries stretch well past this Ivy League institution.
“There’s people in our community who are particularly vulnerable in this moment,” Zaid said, referring to the UC Berkeley campus. “There’s a fine line most people are toeing right now between being paralyzed with fear, such that they don’t go out, they don’t protest, they don’t engage in any activism, at the same time taking legal precautions.”
College students and educators across the US are closely watching the Trump administration’s escalating crackdown on Columbia over allegations of antisemitism. The actions by Washington against Columbia include the detention of the prominent pro-Palestinian student activist, the termination of $400 million in federal funding and agreements , along with conditioning federal funding on the prohibition of masks during protests, granting the university president exclusive authority for student discipline, and enabling campus law enforcement to conduct arrests.
The "destruction" of the First Amendment and federal funding will impact future generations significantly, according to Zaid from UC Berkeley.
Jameel Jaffer, who leads the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia, On social platforms, they outlined the Trump administration’s requirements. It's essentially stating, "We'll demolish Columbia unless you do so first."
Jaffer was referring to a joint letter to Columbia from the US Department of Education and other agencies outlining preconditions for “formal negotiations regarding Columbia University’s continued financial relationship with the United States government.”
A Columbia spokesperson said the university was “reviewing the letter,” adding that it’s “committed at all times to advancing our mission, supporting our students, and addressing all forms of discrimination and hatred on our campus.”
Robert McCaughey, an emeritus professor of history at Columbia-affiliated Barnard College and author of a history of Columbia, said the Trump administration’s tensions with the university are “just about unique, and that it turns so quickly on finances is also a suggestion of its uniqueness.”
And when they target the students, they also go for the funding," he stated. "In this aspect, I believe Columbia might have an unusually high susceptibility since it hosts a significant number of international students. If these students were prevented from continuing their education due to visa issues or similar obstacles, it would significantly impact the university’s finances.
'It really makes me want to speak up'
On Thursday at Harvard University, almost 200 faculty members, employees, and students gathered for a demonstration supporting Abdulrahman Khalil and condemning the Trump administration’s policies targeting educational institutions. Violet Brown, a junior involved with organizations such as Harvard Jews for Palestine along with various other pro-Palestinian groups, attended the event. She mentioned this protest might be one of the biggest on campus since early spring.
“It’s definitely scary watching what is happening at Columbia,” she said. “Columbia showed us, and I hope that it showed our administrators, too … that no level of acquiescence or obedience to a frankly fascist administration is going to do you any good because Columbia took arguably the strictest, most violent approach to cracking down on protests.”
Last spring, the student coalition Columbia University Apartheid Divest demanded the university divest from its financial ties to Israel and a call for a ceasefire in Gaza. After the university missed its deadline for an agreement on divestment, students and people unaffiliated with the school entered Columbia’s Hamilton Hall and barricaded themselves inside. The university called the police to remove the protesters and more than 110 people were arrested, according to the NYPD .
Columbia said on Thursday that it has expelled, suspended or temporarily revoked the degrees of students who occupied Hamilton Hall in April 2024. It’s unclear how many students were suspended or expelled. A university spokesperson said “student privacy obligations” prevented them from confirming how many were disciplined.
Tensions flared at US universities last spring as some administrators called in law enforcement to break up protest encampments and arrest students participating in campus demonstrations that erupted after the October 7, 2023, The Hamas assault in Southern Israel followed by the ensuing conflict in Gaza .
For international students, there may be an additional need for caution regarding their visibility," Brown commented on protest activities this spring. "However, I believe that the current assault on free speech is actually galvanizing people more than events like the genocides in Gaza or the West Bank ever have, which is quite regrettable.
A PhD candidate in political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a key figure with the MIT Coalition for Palestine, Richard Solomon labeled Khalil’s detainment as "a futile effort to label legitimate expression as a crime." He also mentioned that this arrest has instead strengthened their community spirit.
People are becoming more involved, irritated, and prepared to take tangible actions," he stated. "Each official who contacted law enforcement against their own students and each coworker who advised others to 'stay quiet' bear some responsibility for the disappearance of a student under the Trump administration.
Benjamin Kersten, a PhD candidate at UCLA and a member of the pro-Palestinian organization Jewish Voice for Peace, mentioned that many international and undocumented students who aren’t part of the anti-war efforts advocating for divestment from Israel are also avoiding the university campus in Los Angeles following Khalil’s detainment.
It really amplifies the stakes for those involved in the movement as well as for those outside of it," he stated. "This effort to liberate Mahmoud Khalil has now become closely tied to urging universities to resist complying with directives from the Trump administration and to adopt measures safeguarding their students. This includes committing to uphold freedoms such as free speech and the right to peaceful demonstration... It underscores the immediacy of our cause even further. It truly motivates me to speak out more forcefully.
Students urged to focus on course work
Three days after Khalil’s arrest on March 8, Columbia’s Journalism School held a meeting with students to talk about concerns over free speech and reporting at a time when federal immigration agents removed the recent graduate from university housing. Jelani Cobb, the journalism school dean, wrote on social media that one question raised was what the department “was doing to protect visa-holding students from potential arrest and deportation.”
“I went on to say that I would do everything in my power to defend our journalists and their right to report but that none of us had the capacity to stop DHS from jeopardizing their safety,” Cobb wrote, noting the importance of offering an “honest rendering of the risks” and threats in reporting about the situation on campus.
Stuart Karle, an adjunct professor and media law expert, told Pawonation.comthat he urged international students at the meeting “to focus on completing their course work and graduating.”
And to ensure they can achieve this, they're much better off avoiding becoming a target for enforcement," he stated, additionally recommending that they abstain from commenting on social media regarding subjects like the situation in the Middle East or Ukraine.
There isn't much sense in becoming the individual they choose as an exemplar... All evidence indicates that the administration is concentrating their efforts on Columbia," Karle stated regarding Khalil’s detention. "What stands out... is his possession of a green card. He doesn’t even have a student visa. This aspect serves as a warning... to stay highly vigilant because the guidelines seem unclear now; things have changed.
Chelsea, Bailey, Gloria Pazmino, Dalia Faheid, Priscilla Alvarez, Angelica Franganillo Diaz, Jennifer Hansler, Karina Tsui, Elizabeth Hartfield, Jeff Winter, Alaa Elassar, Michelle Watson, and Lauren Mascarenhas from Pawonation.com contributed to this report.
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