ICE Abducts & Disappears US Green Card Holder Mahmoud Khalil

ICE claims it is acting on US State Dept orders, without warrant or charge, and refuses to inform Khalil's U.S. Citizen wife or his attorney of his whereabouts

Last Saturday night the United States entered a new level of oppression, and if we do not all act now to oppose it, then free speech is officially dead, fascism has officially taken hold, and each of us who oppose Trump’s fascism are absolutely next. Let’s Address This.

Summary of Trump’s Fascist Acts

Last Saturday night Donald Trump committed the following fascist acts:

• Sent ICE to illegally detain a legal U.S. resident without a warrant or charge because he peacefully protested the U.S. government’s policies.

• Initially tried to arrest the resident’s U.S. citizen wife, who is eight months pregnant with their child.

• Abducted that legal resident to an undisclosed location, and is refusing to share with his family or his lawyer where he’s being detained, why he’s being detained, and on what criminal charges or even probable cause he’s being detained.

We would expect such injustice from a dictatorship, but instead, this is what Donald Trump is currently doing to U.S. green card holder Mahmoud Khalil and his U.S. citizen wife.

ICE is Officially Trump’s Gestapo

If ever there were any doubt as to the role ICE would serve and has served under Trump’s regime, let those doubts now vanish. ICE is Trump’s Secret State Police, i..e Gestapo. Period. The Gestapo, of course, were Hitler’s secret Nazi police that abducted dissenters and stifled opposition with threats, force, and torture. With Saturday night’s secret ICE raid on the campus of Columbia University to arrest Mahmoud Khalil, it is clear Trump plans to use ICE how Hitler used the Secret State Police. Here’s what happened.

Khalil is a graduate of Columbia, is a documented U.S. green card holder, is married to a U.S. citizen, and has no criminal record whatsoever.

But he had one fatal “flaw.”

Khalil dared exercise his Constitutionally protected freedom of speech. Khalil was a lead organizer in the peaceful protests at Columbia University to oppose the U.S. Government’s decision to continue to fund Netanyahu as he committed his well documented war crimes against Palestinians. ICE first claimed Khalil’s visa was being revoked. Once informed that Khalil is here on a green card and is married to a U.S. Citizen, ICE changed its story and stated that his green card is being revoked. But that is not a decision or authority within the purview of ICE or the U.S. State Department. That is only a decision an immigration judge can make, and only after the government procures a judicial warrant, makes a legal arrest, files applicable charges, tries a person in a criminal proceeding, convicts them in that proceeding, and the accused exhausts all appeals.

None of that happened here. Not one bit of it.

Far from the due process our Constitution affords every person—citizen or not—the Trump regime executed a de facto autocratic move to stifle dissent and disappear a dissenter. And now, given that neither Khalil’s wife, nor any other member of his family, nor his lawyer know where he is, and given that Khalil has received no due process of his Constitutionally protected rights, it is absolutely correct to state that the Trump regime’s denial of these basic human rights amounts to torture. Khalil’s lawyer Amy Greer released the following statement:

Amy E. Greer is an associate at Dratel & Lewis and issues this statement:

Last night ICE agents wrongfully arrested Mahmoud Khalil, claiming his student visa was revoked - even though Mahmoud is legal permanent resident (green card) and not in the U.S. on a student visa. Confronted with that fact, the ICE agents detained him anyway. Overnight we filed a habeas corpus petition on Mahmoud's behalf challenging the validity of his arrest and detention. Currently we do not know Mahmoud's precise whereabouts.

Initially we were informed this morning that he had been transferred to an ICE facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey. However, when his wife - a U.S. citizen who is eight months' pregnant and was threatened with arrest as well by the ICE agents last night - tried to visit him there today, she was told he is not detained there. We have subsequently received reports that Mahmoud may be transferred as far away as Louisiana. We will vigorously be pursuing Mahmoud's rights in court, and will continue our efforts to right this terrible and inexcusable - and calculated - wrong committed against him.

ICE's arrest and detention of Mahmoud follows the U.S. government's open repression of student activism and political speech, specifically targeting students at Columbia University for criticism of Israel's assault on Gaza. The U.S. government has made clear that they will use immigration enforcement as a tool to suppress that speech. Many individuals and organizations have expressed support for Mahmoud and outrage at the government's conduct, and have offered their assistance in the legal proceedings. Mahmoud greatly appreciates all of that support, as do we.

Again, ICE is Trump’s Gestapo, and we shouldn’t even try to pretend otherwise.

The Trump regime, which prides itself on free speech, is outraged that Khalil used his free speech to protest genocide. Columbia University, which prides itself on diversity of thought, welcomed alt-right Nazis to speak on campus in 2017, yet has now expelled students who spoke out against Israel’s assault on Gaza.

The hypocrisy is stark as it is dangerous. But it begs an even deeper question that no one in corporate media has yet answered.

Did Columbia Collaborate With Trump to Abduct Khalil?

A Columbia University spokesman confirmed that ICE does not have authority to enter campus without a judicial warrant, but then refused to answer whether ICE provided a warrant before illegally entering and abducting Khalil. That means only one of two possible options exist. Either:

• Columbia University is working in secret collusion with the Trump regime, or

• The Trump regime is further violating the law by illegally entering Columbia University without permission.

If the former is true, it would be an unprecedented betrayal of Khalil’s privacy, because it would have meant that the University somehow notified ICE of Khalil’s location and address and helped coordinate the raid. Such an act should put every Columbia student, faculty, and staff on notice, that their University is colluding with a fascist regime out to abduct anyone who questions its authority. And it should mean the courts should order Khalil’s immediate release. If the latter is true, it would mean the Trump regime has no regard for our Constitution, and the courts should strike them down immediately, and still order Khalil’s immediate release.

And notwithstanding any potential collaboration, the Trump regime just cancelled $400M in grants and contracts to Columbia University over antisemitism allegations—not because Columbia allowed alt right Nazis to speak on campus, but because Columbia didn't strongly enough condemn and expel pro Palestine speakers on campus. This is what white supremacy in 2025 America looks like. Indeed, what actually is antisemitic is ignoring the many Jewish voices who—alongside Palestinians—loudly and unapologetically protested the genocide in Gaza. What actually is antisemitic is ignoring the dozens of Jewish and Palestinian students who suffered a chemical attack at the hands of pro-Israel counterprotestors. It is no surprise, therefore, that Jewish Americans are standing in solidarity with Khalil and demanding his release. Bend the Arc: Jewish Action stated:

Columbia student and New Yorker, Mahmoud Khalil - who was targeted and detained for constitutionally protected speech - should be home with his 8 months pregnant wife today. Not missing in ICE detention, unreachable by his lawyers. The White House's authoritarian actions are being falsely done in our name as Jews, by a President and politicians who actively use antisemitism and do not speak for Jews.

Indeed, if condemnations of genocide make you feel personally attacked, then you’re telling on yourself. The only way out of this injustice is unity against fascism.

We Must Stand United Against This Fascism

The petition to release Khalil has already exceeded 1 million signatures—please take a moment to sign it, linked at the bottom of this article (and if you are not a U.S. Citizen please do not use your real name for your own safety). Likewise, contact your member of Congress via phone or email and pressure them to demand Khalil’s immediate release. Here is a sample email to send and script to follow:

Sample Email

Subject: Urgent: Condemn the Arrest of Mahmoud Khalil & Demand His Release

Dear [Representative/Senator] [Last Name],

I am writing to urge you to publicly condemn the Trump regime’s unjust arrest of Mahmoud Khalil and demand his immediate release. This is a blatant violation of human rights and due process, and silence from our elected officials is unacceptable.

The Trump administration’s crackdown on dissent is accelerating, and the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil is yet another chilling example of authoritarian overreach. If we fail to speak out now, this sets a dangerous precedent for further abuses of power. As your constituent, I need to know where you stand.

I urge you to take immediate action by:
✅ Issuing a public statement condemning Khalil’s arrest
✅ Calling on the Trump administration to release him immediately
✅ Demanding transparency and oversight to prevent further political targeting

I will be following up to see what action you take. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

[Your Name][Your Address][Your Email]

---

Phone Script

Hello, my name is [Your Name], and I am a constituent from [Your City/Zip Code]. I am calling to urge [Representative/Senator] [Last Name] to publicly condemn the Trump administration’s arrest of Mahmoud Khalil and demand his immediate release. This is a clear violation of human rights and an alarming sign of growing authoritarianism.

Will [Representative/Senator] [Last Name] issue a public statement condemning this unlawful arrest and take action to ensure Khalil’s immediate release? Silence is not an option. We need bold leadership now more than ever.

Thank you, and I look forward to your response.

---

Make no mistake, if we do not loudly condemn and stop this injustice against Khalil now, it will get far worse, and each of us will be next. Think about the timeline preceding this point:

• What began as demonization of asylum seekers

• Then advanced to a ban on asylum altogether

• Then advanced to mass round ups of immigrants, documented and undocumented,

• Then advanced to codifying mass round ups and mass deportations without due process via the Laken Riley Act

• Then advanced to locking up immigrants in a 30,000 person concentration camp in Cuba

• And is now advancing to secret police abducting legal US residents in the middle of the night to oppress speech they don’t like—all without a warrant, without charge, and without any indication where he’s being held and under what conditions.

This is how autocrats and dictators seize illegal power. This is how fascism takes at hold, slowly at first, and then all at once. This is not supposed to happen in a democratic republic like the United States, where the Constitution, separation of powers, and due process of law are supposed to matter—yet here we are. And anyone who thinks Trump will arbitrarily stop here on his own is sorely mistaken.

My thoughts are not only with Mahmoud Khalil, but also with his wife and their child expected in just a few weeks. The trauma she is facing is absolutely impacting their child, and the risks to her and her yet unborn child’s health cannot be overstated.

I’ve already written at length at the Nazi style anti-immigrant strategy Donald Trump has enacted and the steps we can take to counter his fascism. That guidance still applies now so feel free to re-read that piece. It is of paramount importance we stand united, left and right, to demand justice and due process of law. If Khalil committed a crime as the Trump regime claims, then let them prove it through a court of law and let him be convicted by a jury of his peers. If he did not, then release him and pay him restitution for the illegal denial of his rights afforded under the U.S. Constitution.

First they came for the asylum seekers, then they came for the immigrants, then they came for the U.S. green card holders.

This is America today, but it doesn’t have to be. Let us demand justice.