Newly released footage raises serious questions about the Trump administration’s justification for the warrantless arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder and Columbia University student, on March 8.
According to Khalil’s legal team, immigration agents initially told him they had a warrant when they arrested him. However, the Trump administration later admitted there was no warrant. Officials argued they did not need one because they believed Khalil was likely to flee before a warrant could be obtained. The government claimed that Khalil was uncooperative and posed a flight risk, citing what it called “exigent circumstances” to justify the arrest without a warrant.
The new video footage, obtained after Khalil’s legal team subpoenaed Columbia University, contradicts the government’s narrative. It shows Khalil speaking on the phone, believed to be with his attorney, before voluntarily handing the phone to immigration agents. The video, which does not include audio, shows Khalil engaging calmly with the agents and does not indicate any attempt to flee. For several minutes in the footage, Khalil is not handcuffed, and the agents appear relaxed, suggesting they did not view him as a threat.
In previously released video of the arrest, plainclothes agents can be seen handcuffing Khalil as he cooperates fully with their demands.
Ramzi Kassem, a law professor at the City University of New York and co-director of CLEAR, a legal clinic representing Khalil, said the footage clearly disproves the government’s claims. “The Columbia footage conclusively proves that Mahmoud never attempted to run from ICE agents, that the government lied once again, and that there was no valid reason for the arrest of a U.S. permanent resident and human rights defender,” Kassem told Zeteo.
Other students have also faced similar treatment. Rümeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University student, was labeled a flight risk by an immigration judge in Louisiana, despite video evidence showing she cooperated fully when plainclothes agents detained her in Somerville, Massachusetts. Öztürk was released on bail earlier this month by a federal court in Vermont. Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi and Georgetown scholar Badar Khan Suri have also been released.
The Trump administration has yet to provide clear justification for its broad crackdown on pro-Palestine and anti-war activists, citing concerns that such speech threatens U.S. foreign policy interests.
Khalil remains detained in a Louisiana ICE facility. After he challenged his arrest in court, a federal judge demanded the administration provide evidence supporting its grounds for detaining him. The Trump administration objected to the judge’s order, calling it “misguided.”
Khalil is scheduled to appear in immigration court on May 22.
Anyone affected by these actions or with relevant information regarding these developments is encouraged to contact Prem Thakker via email or Signal.
