Columbia University Braces for Anti-Israel Walkout as Students Protest Mahmoud Khalil’s Arrest
New York, NY – March 11, 2025 – Tensions are running high at Columbia University today as students queue up to enter the campus, with a significant faction of Pro-Palestine activists preparing to stage a dramatic walkout. The protest, expected to unfold shortly, comes in response to the recent arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian graduate student and prominent leader in last year’s campus demonstrations against Israel’s war in Gaza. As the university community watches closely, whispers are growing that the parents of these outspoken students may soon find themselves thrust into the spotlight, their identities and involvement potentially exposed amid the escalating controversy.
Khalil, an Algerian citizen of Palestinian descent, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Saturday night at his university-owned apartment near Columbia’s Manhattan campus. His arrest marks a bold move by the Trump administration, which has vowed to crack down on foreign students involved in what it deems “anti-Semitic” protests. Authorities allege Khalil “led activities aligned to Hamas,” a claim his supporters vehemently deny, arguing it’s a pretext to silence dissent. With his green card reportedly under threat of revocation, the case has ignited outrage among students and faculty alike, setting the stage for today’s walkout.
Lines of students, some clutching signs and others murmuring in solidarity, formed early this morning outside campus gates. The Pro-Palestine contingent, led by groups like Columbia University Apartheid Divest—where Khalil served as a key negotiator—plans to abandon classes and rally in a show of defiance. “This isn’t just about Mahmoud; it’s about all of us,” said Maryam Alwan, a senior and close ally of Khalil, as she adjusted a keffiyeh around her shoulders. “They’re trying to scare us into silence, but we won’t back down.”
The walkout promises to amplify an already fraught atmosphere at Columbia, which has been a flashpoint for Pro-Palestine activism since last spring’s encampments. Those protests, which saw students occupy campus lawns and even seize a building, drew national attention—and the ire of federal officials. Just days before Khalil’s arrest, the Trump administration slashed $400 million in grants and contracts to the university, citing its alleged failure to curb antisemitism. Now, with ICE’s dramatic intervention, the stakes have risen further.
But the fallout may not stop at the students themselves. Sources close to the protest movement suggest that the parents of these activists could soon face scrutiny, their names and connections dragged into the open as part of a broader effort to pressure the demonstrators. “They want to hit us where it hurts,” one anonymous student organizer told this outlet, hinting at a possible campaign to “expose” families supporting the cause. “If they think outing our parents will stop us, they’re dead wrong—it’ll only make us louder.”
Columbia’s administration, meanwhile, remains tight-lipped. A spokesperson reiterated the university’s policy that law enforcement must present a judicial warrant to enter campus property but declined to confirm whether such a warrant preceded Khalil’s arrest. Critics, including the Student Workers of Columbia union, accuse the school of “surrendering” to federal pressure, pointing to a newly revised protocol allowing ICE access under vague “exigent circumstances.”
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