Mahmoud_Khalil

Andrea Austria / Media Matters

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Right-wing media cheer Trump administration’s arrest of Mahmoud Khalil

The Trump team is trying to deport a permanent resident of the United States and revoke his green card, and right-wing media are celebrating the effort

Written by Gideon Taaffe & Jack Winstanley

Published

Legal resident Mahmoud Khalil was arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement following his activism for Gaza at Columbia University, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio shared a story about him online, writing, “We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported."

Such arrests are a policy goal of the Heritage Foundation and Khalil's arrest reportedly followed some online targeting of him. Right-wing media have responded to his arrest by calling for more arrests and deportations, arguing that the administration needs to “send a message” and that students are “going to lose." 

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  • ICE arrested Khalil after the Trump administration cracked down on college protests

    • Mahmoud Khalil was detained by ICE following his pro-Palestinian activism at Columbia University. According to his attorney, ICE agents initially claimed his student visa had been revoked, but when Khalil noted he is a lawful permanent resident with a green card, they detained him anyway. Khalil’s wife, who is a U.S. citizen, was also threatened with arrest. [The Washington Post, 3/9/25]
    • The Department of Homeland Security told CBS News that Khalil’s arrest was “in support of President Trump's executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism” and claimed he “led activities aligned to Hamas,” but it did not provide any charges or alleged crimes. The executive order called for the deportation of “pro-jihadist” protesters. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on social media that the U.S. will revoke green cards of anyone who “supports Hamas.” According to legal scholar Steve Vladeck, “To sustain the lawfulness of Khalil’s arrest, the government has to identify the specific basis on which it believes that Khalil is subject to removal.” [CBS, 3/10/25; NPR, 1/30/25; The Daily Beast, 3/10/25; One First with Steve Vladeck, 3/10/25]
    • Khalil is being held in a Louisiana detention center, and his lawyers have objected to that location. Khalil’s lawyer called his move to Louisiana “a blatantly improper but familiar tactic designed to frustrate the New York federal court's jurisdiction, and isolate Mahmoud far from his lawyers, his home, and his local community of support.” A U.S. district judge ordered Khalil to remain in the U.S. “to preserve the court's jurisdiction” and is scheduled to oversee a detention hearing on Wednesday. [NBC News, 3/10/25]

  • Deporting activists such as Khalil is a policy goal of the Heritage Foundation’s “Project Esther” and reportedly followed online targeting

    • Project Esther, a Heritage Foundation-backed plan to “combat antisemitism,” calls for “Foreign HSO [Hamas Support Organizations] leaders and members” to be “deported from the U.S.” The Jewish magazine Forward notes, “The plan’s first targets are pro-Palestinian organizations like Students for Justice in Palestine, American Muslims for Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace.” The Heritage plan also suggests that these organizations are “dedicated to the destruction of capitalism and democracy” and benefit “from the support and training of America’s overseas enemies.” According to the plan, such organizations have “infiltrated their ideology into the U.S. education system across all levels. ... The U.S. education system fosters antisemitism under the guise of ‘pro-Palestinian,’ anti-Israel, anti-Zionist narratives across universities, high schools, and elementary schools, often under the umbrella or within the rubric of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and similar Marxist ideology.” [Heritage Foundation, 10/7/24; Forward, 11/19/24]
    • Khalil’s detention and his arrest was reportedly preceded by a series of online posts that identified him as a protester and “SUSPECTED FOREIGN NATIONAL.” At least one of the posts tagged Rubio and asked him to “revoke Mahmoud Khalil’s visa.” [Drop Site News, 3/9/25]

  • Right-wing media and guests cheered the arrest and argued that the Trump administration “needs to go further” to tamp down pro-Palestinian protests

    • On Faulkner Focus, former Fox contributor Leo Terrell, who is on the White House task force combating “anti-Semitic harassment in schools and on college campuses,” stated that Khalil’s arrest “is the beginning of a series of victories.” Terrell added, “This arrest of this individual is an indication and should serve as a deterrent that the Trump administration is not going to allow individuals on a student visa with a green card to commit antisemitic behavior on our college campuses.” [Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, 3/10/25; Department of Justice, 2/3/25]
    • On Newsmax, right-wing political activist Kennedy Goetz argued that if you support pro-Palestinian protests, “your visa should be provoked,” after she was asked about whether Khalil's green card should be revoked. She also said that “if you come into our country, it is a privilege, and it is an absolute privilege to be a United States citizen.” [Newsmax, The National Report, 3/10/25]
    • Fox News’ Aishah Hasnie said the Trump administration has to “send a message” and “make an example of somebody” to get college protests to end. Hasnie continued, “You can’t keep behaving this way, especially if the universities don't do anything about it.” Co-anchor John Roberts commented that the student protests are “trespassing at the very least along with potentially giving support and comfort to a terrorist organization.” [Fox News, America’s Newsroom, 3/10/25]
    • Right-wing radio host Hugh Hewitt called Khalil’s arrest “a warning shot as well to anyone supporting Hamas,” despite admitting the government has “not produced evidence showing he has made a specific statement of support of Hamas.” Hewitt explained that the Trump administration is testing the waters with Khalil, saying, “I think they've begun with Mr. Khalil. He has the highest level of protection that a noncitizen can have, legal permanent resident.” [Fox News, America’s Newsroom, 3/11/25]
    • On Fox & Friends, co-host Lawrence Jones noted to attorney Chris Swecker that Trump administration officials “haven't even explored the criminal element” regarding Khalil yet. Swecker argued that “they need to go further” and stated that the arrest “sends the right message,” adding, “Resources need to be devoted to this, and I think this is just the beginning, Lawrence. I think this was just a shot across the bow.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 3/11/25]
    • Fox host Brian Kilmeade warned, “Students, you are going to lose,” due to the Trump administration’s “relentless” actions, adding that no Democrat is “going to stand up for you.” Jones, added, “If the Democrats want to make this kid their martyr, I don’t think it’s going to go well for them. I want them to target the rest of them.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 3/11/25]
    • On Newsmax, The Daily Wire’s Andrew Klavin said that Khalil is “better off getting out of here” and he hopes “all the people who were with him who are not American nationals are sent home in a big, big hurry.” Host Rob Schmitt also called Khalil a “serious pro-Hamas agitator” and commented that he hopes ICE “can get this guy and many more out of this country.” [Newsmax, Rob Schmitt Tonight, 3/10/25]
    • Conservative writer Brigitte Gabriel celebrated the arrest on X, stating “ONE DOWN!” [Twitter/X, 3/9/25]
    • During a panel discussion of Khalil’s case, The Five co-host Greg Gutfeld claimed, “You can deport him. He doesn't have to be a criminal.” Gutfeld also baselessly claimed that Khalil “has seen some USAID money.” [Fox News, The Five, 3/11/25]
    • Fox News host Laura Ingraham claimed, “There are a lot more Mahmoud Khalil's out there.” She added, “And they are living here. They are working here. They are studying here on student visas, on work visas, and it is their goal — the left's goal — to normalize this notion of foreigners coming here and then advocating for the overthrow of our government.” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 3/11/25]