In a press conference on Tuesday, Mayor Adams dodged questions and defended the Trump administration’s detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian permanent resident with a green card who was taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement from his Morningside apartment on Saturday and moved to a DHS facility in Louisiana, apparently for deportation. In a social media post on Monday, President Trump called the detention of Khalil – a Columbia grad who organized protests on campus when he was a student last spring – “the first arrest of many to come.”
“I cannot say this clear enough: federal government deals with immigration,” he told reporters at the weekly Q&A in City Hall. “We made it clear, we do not collaborate with civil enforcement, and we don’t, but I’m going to collaborate every day with [enforcement for] those who commit crimes.”
Trump has called the demonstrations against Israel after the start of the Israel-Hamas war – which most human rights groups have deemed a genocide – “illegal protests,” while Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Khalil a “Hamas supporter.” But for all the damning words, no government official has yet explained what crime he is accused of, and as of this writing no charges have been filed. Adams also criticized protesters for “antisemitic terminologies.”
At one point, the mayor bristled at concern expressed by reporters over Khalil’s situation. “What I’m finding surprising is the level of support you are all displaying but I didn’t see that support for me,” he said. “Even after we saw the emails and text messages that there’s a potential that this was politically motivated.” On Friday, DOJ lawyers filed a motion citing text messages from the federal prosecutors who recently resigned over the corruption case against Mayor Adams being dropped, in which some attorneys said it was “plausible” that the former US attorney on Adams’ case may have had a “political motive.”
Despite initially declining to offer his opinion on the matter, later in the briefing Adams defended the Trump administration’s actions. “As a former law enforcement person, I know there are parts of an investigation that’s beyond our understanding,” the mayor said. “Let the process take its course. That’s why the federal government is in charge of deportation.”
The rescission of a lawful permanent resident status like Khalil’s does not involve being detained by ICE unless there is some serious underlying crime or national security concern. According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website, a person with a green card should be served a Notice of Intent to Rescind (NOIR) if their status as a legal permanent resident is being challenged. That person can then submit a written response under oath contesting the allegations that led to the NOIR within 30 days, or request a hearing before an immigration judge. No government agency or department head has contended with this process, and queries from La Voce to relevant agencies have gone unanswered.
A judge has temporarily halted the deportation process for Mahmoud Khalil pending a hearing on Wednesday.
