Border czar Tom Homan says Columbia student protester Mahmoud Khalil violated terms of his green card

Following the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, an activist who led anti-Israel demonstrations at Columbia University, by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Saturday night, border czar Tom Homan said that resident aliens in the US on green cards could be targeted for deportations if they commit crimes.

"Tom, ICE has arrested a Palestinian activist who led anti-Israel, pro-Hamas protests on Columbia’s campus. He has a green card. Can you deport a legal immigrant?" Fox Business’ Stuart Varney asked. 

"Absolutely we can," Homan said. "I mean, did he violate the terms of his visa? Did he violate the terms of his residency here? You know, committing crimes, you know, attacking Israeli students, locking down buildings, destroying property. Absolutely. Any resident alien who commits a crime is eligible for deportation."

Homan continued on to say that Khalil is "one out of many." 

"We’re going to send a strong message saying anybody here on a foreign visa," you’re given "a right to come to the greatest country on Earth and study in our colleges, but when you come here to study, you gotta obey the laws of this country. You gotta obey the requirements of that visa to be lawful while you’re here."

He said it was a "great privilege" to come study in the United States, but "when we give you that right to study in this country, don’t violate our laws."

According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service, green card holders are "Required to obey all laws of the United States and localities; Required to file your income tax returns and report your income to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and state taxing authorities; Expected to support the democratic form of government (“support” does not include voting. Permanent residents cannot vote in federal, state, or local elections.); and Required to register with the Selective Service, if you are a male age 18 through 25."

Khalil, who completed his graduate studies at Columbia in December, is part of Columbia United Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a group that led the campus takeover at the beginning of the academic year in September. He was briefly suspended over his involvement. 

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said that Khalil was being arrested because he "led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization." An official with the administration told The Free Press that "the allegation here is not that he was breaking the law," but that he was "mobilizing support for Hamas and spreading antisemitism in a way that is contrary to the foreign policy of the U.S."

On Monday, a federal judge blocked the deportation of Khalil. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday in New York. His detention is part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on antisemitism on college campuses and pro-terror foreign nationals who were involved in demonstrations.