The Abduction of Mahmoud Khalil

ABSTRACT: Though the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil has been widely covered, it still does not cease to shock. A legal permanent resident of the United States, Khalil was returning to his Columbia University apartment building with his pregnant wife (a U.S. citizen) when he was approached by ICE agents looking to take him into custody in connection with his role as a prominent student protester on campus. The whole affair had a slapdash quality to it: the ICE agents claimed to be revoking his student visa, only to be told he had a green card, which prompted confusion. The lead agent, who had been honored by Donald Trump during his first presidency, then spoke to Khalil's lawyer on the phone, but promptly hung up when the lawyer requested a copy of the warrant the agent claimed to have in his possession.