Faculty Nationwide Condemn Arrests of Mahmoud Khalil & Leqaa Korda, DHS Raid on Columbia’s Campus 

March 14, 2025

As educators, scholars, researchers, writers, and artists within the academic community, we condemn the arrest and detention of Palestinian activists Mahmoud Khalil and Leqaa Korda, who are being targeted for their constitutionally-protected protest activity. ​​We call for their immediate release and an end to the persecution of individuals who are criminalized for their political views, especially those advocating for justice in Palestine or criticizing Israel.

On March 8th, ICE agents entered the Columbia University building where Mahmoud Khalil lives with his wife, who is eight months pregnant. The agents informed Khalil that his student visa was being revoked. When notified that he was a permanent U.S. resident with a green card, they declared that his green card was also being revoked. On the night of March 13th, the Department of Homeland Security raided two student residences on Columbia’s campus. Since then, Leqaa Korda, another Palestinian student who had also participated in campus protests, was arrested by DHS agents. These cases are chilling reminders of the countless students and faculty who have, historically, been “disappeared” under dictatorships around the world. Campuses across the country may soon follow Columbia and become swarming grounds for ICE and the Department of Homeland Security.

The far-right has commandeered university disciplinary procedures and is weaponizing them against the university itself. This current White House administration is bent on dismantling independent governance, rendering students and faculty members vulnerable to arrest and deportation, and destroying their careers. This is not just Columbia’s problem. This is a national crusade to remake the university itself in the image of the current administration.

These violent crackdowns on campus protests are not just about Palestine; they are part of a broader strategy to punish anyone who dares to challenge injustice. This is an existential threat to academic freedom, freedom of expression, freedom of dissent, and the right to protest, writ large. Make no mistake, the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil and Leqaa Korda is not just an assault on two individuals, it is an attempt to scare our students and our colleagues into submission. It is an attempt to punish those who disagree with and challenge those in power. If this detention and deportation are allowed to stand, there is no telling where the current administration’s vengeance toward those it perceives as political enemies–which includes many faculty, staff, and students in higher education–will end.

We demand Mahmoud Khalil and Leqaa Korda’s immediate and unconditional release. We demand an end to ICE and police harassment of student activists. We demand that university officials immediately cease any collaboration with those forces. Cooperating in the persecution of student protesters is a blatant betrayal of higher education’s purported mission and will not shield these institutions from future attacks.

We will support the April 17th Day of Action on campuses across the country.  We will take individual and collective action to end this crisis of political repression. 

We will not be silent.  We will stand on the right side of history. Hands off our students.  Sign on to Our Statement 

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