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On March 8, 2025, agents from the Department of Homeland Security arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful permanent resident of the United States. As a graduate student at Columbia University, Khalil had been involved in campus activism related to the current conflict in Gaza. 

According to Khalil’s attorney, the agents who arrested him initially said his visa had been revoked. Upon being informed that Khalil is a lawful permanent resident, whose status therefore cannot be revoked by unilateral DHS action, the agents arrested him anyway. When Mr. Khalil’s attorney asked to see a warrant for his arrest, DHS declined to produce one. 

Subsequent statements from the administration suggested Khalil was arrested because of constitutionally protected speech. On March 9, DHS stated that Khalil’s arrest was made “in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism,” and that “Khalil led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” President Donald Trump later remarked on Khalil’s arrest, noting that the government intends to seek removal of any foreign students who engage in “pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity.”

On March 10, FIRE sent a letter to Trump administration officials demanding answers on the legal and factual basis for the detention of Khalil.

On March 20, FIRE— joined by the National Coalition Against Censorship, The Rutherford Institute, PEN America, and First Amendment Lawyers Association — filed a "friend of the court" brief arguing that the jailing of Khalil violates the First Amendment.