Wed Mar 12 03:44:11 UTC 2025: **Columbia University Faces Federal Crackdown After Student’s Arrest**
**New York, March 12, 2025** – The White House is escalating its conflict with Columbia University, accusing the institution of obstructing a federal effort to deport participants in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. The dispute follows the Saturday arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and legal U.S. resident, who faces deportation.
The Trump administration has already withdrawn $400 million in grants and contracts from Columbia, citing the university’s alleged failure to address antisemitism on campus. This includes over $250 million in National Institutes of Health funding, impacting hundreds of research grants.
Khalil, a spokesperson for last spring’s large-scale student protests against Israeli military actions in Gaza, has not been charged with a crime. However, the White House claims he organized disruptive protests, harassed Jewish students, and distributed pro-Hamas propaganda. The administration is using a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that allows deportation if a non-citizen’s presence poses serious foreign policy risks.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that Columbia is refusing to cooperate with federal agents seeking to identify other protest participants deemed by the administration as antisemitic and pro-Hamas. President Trump has vowed further arrests and deportations of students involved in what he terms “pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity.”
Khalil’s lawyers and civil rights groups argue the government is unconstitutionally suppressing free speech. A federal judge has ordered a hearing on Wednesday and temporarily blocked Khalil’s deportation. Khalil, who recently completed his master’s degree, and other protest leaders deny being antisemitic, noting that some Jewish students participated in the demonstrations. Khalil’s wife, expecting their first child, has publicly pleaded for his release. The situation highlights a growing clash between the Trump administration and universities over freedom of speech and immigration policy.
First Piper 