On Thursday, Trump administration officials admitted that Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil was arrested without a warrant. Khalil, a green card holder, has been detained since March, when Secretary of State Marco Rubio cancelled his visa over nebulous allegations of "pro-terrorist" speech.
This admission came as part of a lengthy legal battle over the government's attempt to deport Khalil without criminal charges or due process.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Khalil on March 8 and quickly took him to a detention center in Louisiana. Administration officials have said he was arrested in connection with pro-Palestine protests at Columbia. "This administration is not going tolerate individuals having the privilege of studying in our country and then siding with pro-terrorist organizations that have killed Americans," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in March. "We have a zero-tolerance policy for siding with terrorists, period." On April 11, an immigration judge in Louisiana sided with the administration, stating that the "department has met its burden to establish removability by clear and convincing evidence."
