Mahmoud Khalil was one of the most prominent faces in the campus’s protest movement. Khalil held permanent residency at the time of his arrest prompting thousands of people to sign a petition calling for his release. US campuses including Columbia’s in New York were rocked by student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. Trump railed against the student protest movement linked to the conflict in Gaza, and vowed to deport foreign students who had demonstrated. He also threatened to cut off federal funding for institutions that he said were not doing enough to combat anti-Semitism. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment. and Columbia did not directly address Khalil’s arrest in response to inquiries, but in a statement said \”there have been reports of ICE in the streets around campus\” The demonstrations ignited accusations ofAnti-Semitism, some of which turned violent, and pitted students protesting Israel’s conduct against pro-Israel campaigners, many of whom were Jewish.