Radical Columbia protest group to stage 'walkout' over DHS 'raids' of student rooms, Mahmoud Khalil arrest

A walkout is set to take place on Columbia University’s campus on Friday afternoon after federal agents with the Department of Homeland Security searched two students’ rooms on campus overnight.

Columbia University Apartheid Divest posted just after midnight on Friday that "The Department of Homeland Security is actively on our campus searching for students!" They added, "This cannot be our new normal, WALKOUT AT 12:30PM AND JOIN US AT THE COLUMBIA GATES." The group also posted a sheet titled "Know Your Rights While Protesting as Non-Citizens," outlining First Amendment rights in the US and types of speech "that can adversely affect a non-citizen’s immigration status." 

In an Instagram post, the radical group stated that the majority of students at Columbia and its sister school, Barnard College, "voted to divest from genocide," and that instead of divesting, "Columbia has doubled-down on its commitment to genocide."

"In the last month alone - Columbia has expelled nine students for opposing genocide, invited NYPD back onto campus for the third time to beat and arrest its students, and allowed ICE agents to detain and deport its students from university property. Columbia University and all genocidal institutions must be mass disrupted as they support the murder of Palestinians and the brutal repression of their students opposing it." On Saturday, recent Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over his role in anti-Israel protests that took over Columbia's campus. 

Interim school president Katrina Armstrong revealed the raids in an emailed statement late Thursday, "I am writing heartbroken to inform you that we had federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in two University residences tonight. No one was arrested or detained. No items were removed, and no further action was taken."

Armstrong said DHS agents served the school with two judicial search warrants signed by a federal magistrate judge "authorizing DHS to enter non-public areas of the University and conduct searches of two student rooms."

"The University has a clear protocol in place. Consistent with this protocol, our longstanding practice, and the practices of cities and institutions throughout the country, the University requires that law enforcement have a judicial warrant to enter non-public University areas, including residential University buildings. Tonight, that threshold was met, and the University is obligated to comply with the law. Our University Public Safety was present at all times."

She wrote that the school "continues to make every effort to ensure that our campus, students, faculty, and staff are safe" and is "committed to upholding the law, and we expect city, state, and federal agencies to do the same."

"I understand the immense stress our community is under. Despite the unprecedented challenges, Columbia University will remain a place where the pursuit of knowledge is cherished and fiercely protected, where the rule of law and due process is respected and never taken for granted, and where all members of our community are valued and able to thrive. These are the principles we uphold and that guide us every day," Armstrong concluded.

At the bottom of the statement were links to available university resources, including "counseling and well-being resources" and "spiritual support."