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Jewish anti-Israel protesters flood Trump Tower's lobby to demand Mahmoud Khalil's release, nearly 100 arrested
Trump Tower in New York has been swarmed by scores of demonstrators in protest against Mahmoud Khalil's detention. Among the protesters is actress Debra Winger.
Chaos has erupted at Trump Tower as scores of “anti-ICE and pro-Hamas protestors” have swarmed the skyscraper in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York in protest against Mahmoud Khalil's detention.
Khalil, a green card holder who was instrumental in pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University. This protest comes as the Trump administration has filed a document calling him the “subject to removal from the United States,” NBC News reported.
The Federal immigration officers in New York City arrested Khalil, 30, on Saturday. He was briefly sent to a detention facility in New Jersey before being shifted to the prison in Jena, Louisiana. Khalil, who is Algerian citizen of Palestinian descent, is a lawful permanent resident of the United States and is married to a US citizen.
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The document mentioned a section of immigration law that allows the secretary of state to deport an individual if it is found that the individual “would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
Protests erupt at Trump Tower
Meanwhile, several videos from Trump Tower have surfaced on social media, showing protestors raising slogans against the US government and shouting “Free Mahmoud, Free them All!”
"Scenes from Trump Tower, where hundreds of Jews and allies are chanting “We want justice, you say how. Bring Mahmoud home now! The protests are being led by the Jewish Voice for Peace to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil,” one X user wrote while sharing the pictures of the protest.
“The Jewish Group, “Jewish Voice for Peace” is holding a sit-in in the lobby of Trump tower right now. They are calling for the release of Mahmoud Khalil,” one more reacted.
CNN reported that police arrested nearly 100 people.
Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene issued a stern warning to protestors, saying: “I know the owner of that building and he will definitely be pressing charges.”
Among the protesters was actress Debra Winger, who accused the Trump administration of having “no interest in Jewish safety” and “co-opting antisemitism.”
“I’m just standing up for my rights, and I’m standing up for Mahmoud Khalil, who has been abducted illegally and taken to an undisclosed location," she told The Associated Press. "Does that sound like America to you?”
What we know about Mahmoud Khalil's arrest
The Department of Homeland Security, as per NBC, sent Khalil a notice regarding deportation proceedings, asking him to appear before an immigration judge at the Louisiana detention center on March 27.
However, Khalil “refused to sign” the document, which was sent to him a day after his detention.
On Monday, a federal judge temporarily prevented his deportation and declared that Khalil would stay in the United States as the court considers an appeal to his arrest and detention.
That case is distinct from the immigration court proceedings Khalil will go through to decide whether DHS's order to deport him and revoke his green card is appropriate.
