Protests erupt after Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil taken by ICE; Trump says arrest is first of many

Demonstrators plan to rally in New York City on Monday to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate arrested by federal immigration agents — a detainment that President Donald Trump said was the "first arrest of many to come."

Khalil, who helped organize the school's pro-Palestinian rallies, was hauled away from his university-owned apartment Saturday night by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after he was told his student visa was being revoked, his attorney said in a statement. Attorney Amy Greer added that ICE was informed that Khalil is a permanent resident with a green card but "detained him anyway."

The arrest seems to be a result of Trump's push to deport international students who protested against the war in Gaza.

Trump said Khalil's arrest was the first of many to come.

"We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it," he wrote on Truth Social. "Many are not students, they are paid agitators. We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again."

Trump and his administration did not provide any evidence of those allegations against Khalil or any other protesters.

The People’s Forum, which is organizing the rally at Federal Plaza in Manhattan on Monday afternoon, demanded that Khalil be released immediately.

"Hands off our students! ICE off our campuses!" the group posted on X.

The nonprofit organization Action Network launched a petition that said more than 900,000 letters had been sent calling for Khalil's release.

Greer said her office filed a petition challenging the validity of his detention and does not know where he is being held. It was initially believed that agents took Khalil to a facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, but his wife was told he was not there when she tried to visit. His wife is a U.S. citizen and eight months pregnant.

The Department of Homeland Security website states Khalil is being held at an immigration detention facility in Jena, Louisiana.

"We will vigorously be pursuing Mahmoud’s rights in court, and will continue our efforts to right this terrible and inexcusable — and calculated — wrong committed against him," she said.

Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, said the arrest was a "blatantly unconstitutional act."

"America is supposed to be a country of laws, but this act by the DHS challenges that very concept," Awawdeh said in a statement. "DHS must immediately release Khalil, and our local elected officials must intervene in this unlawful and politically motivated detention of a New Yorker."

The New York Civil Liberties Union said Khalil's detainment was an "extreme attack on his First Amendment rights."

"Ripping a student from their home, challenging their immigration status, and detaining them solely based on political viewpoint will chill student speech and advocacy across campus," a statement read. "Political speech should never be a basis for punishment, or lead to deportation."

The Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) said the decision to arrest him was "lawless."

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said Khalil was arrested in coordination with ICE and the State Department "in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism" and because he "led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post Sunday on X that the administration would be revoking the visas and green cards "of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported."

Maryam Alwan, a 22-year-old Columbia student involved in the pro-Palestinian movement on campus, told NBC News she has felt intense anxiety since Khalil’s arrest. “I didn’t sleep all night,” she said Monday. “It doesn’t really feel real.”

Alwan was born and raised in Virginia, but “I would not be surprised if American citizens were the next targets,” she said.

She expressed anger over Columbia’s apparent public silence on the detention of Khalil in another state. “I can’t believe that he’s all the way in Louisiana,” the Palestinian-American comparative literature major said.

Alwan was arrested and suspended in April after the university called police officers to clear a sprawling tent encampment. Then, in early January, she was notified that she was being investigated by the university’s Office of Institutional Equity. The email accused her of having been involved in writing an unsigned op-ed, published in the student newspaper on Oct. 19, calling for divestment from Israel.

The investigators said the op-ed in the Columbia Spectator may have subjected other students to “unwelcome conduct” based on their religion, national origin or military service, among other allegations.

Columbia's Office of Institutional Equity did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Columbia said Sunday in a statement that law enforcement must have a judicial warrant to enter nonpublic university areas, including campus buildings.

"Columbia is committed to complying with all legal obligations and supporting our student body and campus community," the university said.

The Columbia and Barnard chapters of the American Association of University Professors and community leaders will hold a news conference 5 p.m. ET Monday to condemn Kahlil's arrest.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com