White House spokesman Caroline Leavitt told Fox News Tuesday evening that the arrest of the Syrian-born leader in violent pro-Hamas protests was “the first of many to come.”
Syrian-born Mahmoud Khalil was detained by a US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official on Saturday evening after being involved in a student camp at Columbia University last year. According to To the Associated Press. As the green card was revoked, Halil is accused of “activities alongside Hamas, the designated terrorist organization.”
In “Honey,” the Fox host asked Leavitt why he believes Halil has the “right to stay in the country” if he supports a terrorist organization like Hamas. (Related: A Senate panel managed by DEM kills Bill, aiming to ban student groups that support “terrorist activities”)
“Everything you just said is true, Sean, and unfortunately, the liberals in legacy media seem to think that if you’re a foreigner, you can act in any way you want,” Leavitt said. “You can protest and push Hamas propaganda. You can side with foreign terrorist organizations that have killed American citizens who have killed innocent babies, men, women and children around the world. Under this administration, that type of activity that is with underlying Islamic terrorists is unbearable.”
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“The Trump administration has a zero-tolerance policy for foreigners who are given the privilege of getting visas and going to the best universities and universities in our country, studying at those institutions and studying alongside these radical terrorist organizations,” Levitt said.
Colombian alumnus, Halil was the “primary negotiator” of one of the university groups that led the frontlines of illegal camps in April 2024, ending with occupying school buildings and damaging property. At the time of the incident, Halil told reporters that he was a student at the school and attended the “F-1 visa.”
Leavitt added that both DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are working together to investigate students who helped protest Pro Hamas, and are within Rubio’s legal jurisdiction to revoke visas under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
“So this arrest that took place on the Columbia campus is the first of many people going forward,” Leavitt said. “With Secretary Noem and Secretary of State Rubio working together, I would like to add and emphasize it to mainstream media that don’t yet understand it. This is within the authority of the President and Secretary of State.”
“Chief Rubio has revoked this individual’s visa under the Immigration and Nationality Act, as this individual has a hostile effect on the foreign policy and national interests of our great nation,” added Leavitt. “This was the right decision. President Trump has promised that he will stand up for Jewish-American students, and he is fulfilling that promise.”
in post Following Khalil’s arrest, Rubio wrote that the administration “could be deported to cancel visas and green cards for American Hamas supporters.” With Khalil still in custody, US District Judge Jesse Furman ordered the DHS on Monday not to remove activists from the United States until a lawsuit opposes his detention was considered.
Hundreds of protesters in support of Khalil gathered Tuesday at Washington Square in New York City, with numbers not arrested by civil servants. According to To CBS News.
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