In the US, Mahmoud Halil, a Palestinian activist student leading protests at Columbia University, has been arrested. Authorities refused to disclose “the reason for his arrest” and threatened to arrest his American wife, who is 8-months pregnant.

According to the Associated Press, officials from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Halil, a Palestinian graduate student who played a significant role in anti-Israel protest demonstrations at the university last year. Halil’s attorney, Amy Greer, confirmed that Halil was taken into custody by ICE officials at an apartment in a building near the Manhattan campus. Greer reported that during the arrest, an ICE officer who she spoke to said that they were acting in accordance with instructions from the US Department of State that included canceling Halil’s student visa.

“GREEN CARD HOLDER” In the meeting, Greer mentioned that Halil is a “green card holder” with permanent residence in the US, despite that, the ICE officer informed him that this was also canceled. Greer emphasized that the official refused to disclose “the reason for Halil’s arrest” and mentioned that they threatened to arrest Halil’s American wife who is 8 months pregnant during the meeting.

TRANSFER LOCATION UNKNOWN Greer noted that they had received information that Halil had been transferred to an immigrant detention facility in New Jersey, but when his wife visited yesterday, she discovered that he was not there. Greer stated that the Palestinian student may have been transferred “as far as Louisiana.” Attorney Greer said, “We couldn’t obtain more details about why he was detained. This is an obvious tension. The administration is carrying out its threats.” DEPORTATION MESSAGE FROM RUBIO US Secretary of State Marco Rubio shared a message on the matter from his X account, saying, “We will cancel the visas or green cards of Hamas supporters in America, so they can be deported.” President Donald Trump had promised to deport international students taking part in protest demonstrations against the massacre in Gaza on US university campuses in the spring of 2024.