Trump Says Arrest of Pro-Palestinian Leader at Columbia Was First of ‘Many to Come’

‘We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country—never to return again,’ the president says in a statement.

President Donald Trump speaks after signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on March 6, 2025. Alex Wong/Getty Images

President Donald Trump announced on March 10 that many more arrests and deportations of those who are considered “terrorist sympathizers” are forthcoming, following the apprehension of a Palestinian student and permanent resident who led last year’s pro-Palestinian encampment protest at Columbia University after the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by terrorist group Hamas.

In a statement on Truth Social, Trump praised Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for detaining Mahmoud Khalil, calling him a “Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student.”