A number of Columbia College college students have chained themselves to a gate to protest Mahmoud Khalil’s detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The scholars started protesting outdoors Columbia College’s St. Paul’s Chapel on Wednesday afternoon, demanding that the establishment launch the names of the trustees “who gave Mahmoud Khalil’s name to ICE.”
The Columbia Palestine Solidarity Committee wrote on X that “We will not leave until our demand is met.”
“FREE MAHMOUD KHALIL. NAME THE TRUSTEE. Jewish students will not leave. They will remain chained to the campus gates until @Columbia University is held accountable. WHO REPORTED MAHMOUD TO ICE?” the group wrote on X.
A spokesperson for Columbia College informed Fox Information Digital that the people chained to the gate on campus had been eliminated by the establishment’s public security officers after round two hours.
“We’re monitoring a disruption on the gate of St. Paul’s Chapel involving roughly 4 people chained to a gate, which constitutes violations of the Guidelines of College Conduct. People complied with the demand for identification however refused to go away the realm. The chains had been eliminated by Columbia’s Public Security and the people had been escorted off campus.
“We will follow the process established in the Rules of University Conduct for enforcing violations. Our focus is on preserving our core mission to teach, create, and advance knowledge while ensuring a safe campus for our community,” the spokesperson stated.
The protesters then sat outdoors the gates with their arms linked and stated they deliberate to remain till Columbia shares “which trustee is responsible for informing on students,” based on the Columbia Every day Spectator.
The college later stated no member of its “leadership or the board of trustees has ever requested the presence of US Immigration and Customs (ICE) agents on or near campus.”
“This includes for enforcement actions against students or any other member of our community,” a spokesperson stated.
“Consistent with our longstanding practice and the practice of cities and institutions throughout the country, law enforcement must have a judicial warrant to enter non-public University areas, including University buildings.”
Round 80 protesters had been simply outdoors the St. Paul’s Chapel gate on Columbia College’s campus, a spokesperson for the New York Police Division informed Fox Information.
Protesters additionally draped a poster off of a close-by overpass that learn: “Free Mahmoud Khalil. Name the trustees.”
Khalil, one of many leaders of the Columbia College anti-Israel encampment in spring 2024, was detained by ICE brokers in New York Metropolis in early March.
The Division of Homeland Safety alleged that Khalil “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.”
Khalil was born in Syria and got here to the US in 2022 earlier than turning into a everlasting resident in 2024.
