Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and former Columbia University student, was detained by ICE as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian student protesters, raising concerns over free speech, immigration enforcement, and political repression.

Radical activists targeted Columbia University with vandalism, clogging toilets with cement and spray-painting slogans in a coordinated protest against the university’s perceived complicity in Israeli policies, prompting condemnation and an ongoing investigation.