Leader of student protests at Columbia University facing deportation after arrest by immigration officials [Video]

A prominent Palestinian activist who helped lead protests at Columbia University is facing deportation following his arrest by federal immigration agents over the weekend.

Mahmoud Khalil, who graduated from the university in December, was arrested Saturday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the arrest, saying it was a result of President Donald Trump’s executive orders prohibiting antisemitism. He has not been formally charged with a crime.

His lawyer, Amy Greer, said the agents who took him into custody at his university-owned home near Columbia initially claimed to be acting on a State Department order to revoke his student visa. But when Greer informed them that Khalil was a permanent resident with a green card, they said they would revoke that documentation instead.

Khalil “is a lawful permanent resident of our nation who has not been charged with or convicted of a single crime,” the Washington-based group said in a statement. “The Department of Homeland Security’s …