A DHS official defended Khalil’s detention in an interview on Thursday but did not provide additional details for his arrest.

Whatever legal rationale the Trump Administration cooks up, deporting protesters for things they say is wildly un-American—and possibly unpopular, too.

The Trump administration has not been subtle about its intentions. A White House official, speaking anonymously to the Free Press, told the right-leaning media organization that Khalil’s arrest would be a “blueprint” for other actions.

Trying to deport Khalil for demonstrating against Israel is an obvious violation of his rights and an attempt to intimidate others, they say.

I was a student at Columbia University, where I covered tense campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war for the college newspaper and for POLITICO. So I’m familiar with Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia student who I’ve chatted with in the past and appears to be the first target of the Trump administration’s effort to crack down on student protesters.

Noor Abdalla, wife of detained Palestinian Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, says she thought her husband didn't have to worry about ICE.