Protesters flooded the lobby of Trump Tower in New York City. This was flooded with solidarity shows with student protest leader Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent resident of the US.
Thursday’s protests are the latest in a series of demonstrations after immigration authorities arrested Khalil on Saturday evening.
President Donald Trump’s administration has said it intends to deport Halil, a Palestinian and married American citizen, over his role in the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University.
However, Halil’s lawyers and supporters believe the Trump administration deliberately blends criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza with support for “terrorism.” The arrest has been thoroughly condemned by a civil liberty group that called Khalil a “political prisoner.”
Leaders at the demonstration on Thursday said they chose Trump Tower to send a message to the president. Both the Trump organization and Trump’s personal New York residences live in high-rise homes.
“As Jews, we are taking over Trump Tower to register mass denials,” the Jewish voice who organized the protest wrote in a post on social media platform X.
“We will not stand up as this fascist regime is trying to criminalize all Palestinian and Palestinians who are seeking to end the US-funded genocide, and we will never stop fighting for free Palestine.”
Among the protesters was actress Deborah Winger.
“I am standing up to Mahmoud Khalil, who has been illegally accused and taken to a private place,” she added. “Does that sound like America to you?”
In a report from New York, Al Jazeera’s Kristen Salumi said there were several “dramatic moments” as police arrested 98 protesters while they were clearing the lobby.
“The protesters basically casually dressed up to ordinary tourists,” Salumi said. “Then they took off their jackets and wore red t-shirts representing their cause. On behalf of Mahmoud Khalil, they said, ‘Not our name.’
“The 98 people dragged out in handcuffs have been discarded and charged with misdemeanor offences.”
Detention continues
A federal judge has stopped Khalil from being removed from the United States, but with legal challenges he is in custody in Louisiana.
His lawyers demanded that he be moved to New York for a lawsuit and approach his 8-month pregnant wife.
During a court hearing yesterday, Khalil’s lawyer Ramji Qassem said “in his defense of Palestinian rights, he has been “identified, targeted, detained and processed for deportation.”
On that side, the Trump administration remained rebellious in his efforts to expel Halil.
White House spokesman Karoline Leavitt said reporters could be removed under a law that allows the Secretary of State to deport green card holders deemed “hostile to the country’s foreign policy and national security interests.”
She repeated the claim that Halil supported the “terrorists” without providing evidence.
Meanwhile, Trump has said that Halil’s arrest is “the first of many to come.”
In another court case Thursday, eight Colombian students, including Halil, were appointed plaintiffs in a petition attempting to bar the university from complying with an order that would share student disciplinary records with the government.
The House Committee on Education and Labor is seeking records from students involved in Palestinian protests as part of an attempt to crack down on anti-Semitism on campus.
The student said the request from the Congressional Committee violated the First Amendment and its right to privacy under the Family Education and Privacy Act, a US law that governs the way universities process student information.
“Entities like universities feel pressured to work with the government in their efforts to cool and punish protected speeches,” the lawsuit states.
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