Columbia University, ostensibly an Ivy League institution, has been the despicable scene of countless pro-Hamas encampments, class disruptions, illegal protests, and even assaults. The school has failed in countless ways to stop the continuously escalating protests. Moreover, it has failed to protect not only its faculty but also its student body as a whole and its Jewish students in particular.

These past few weeks have been loathsome.

Barnard College

Last week, I described the shameful conduct of the Barnard College administration when students stormed a campus building and sent an employee to the hospital. (Barnard is the women’s-only college under the Columbia umbrella.)

After all the protesters went home, it was announced that a third Columbia student had been expelled for storming a different building (Hamilton Hall), which inspired these protesters to take over a library on March 5.

Protestors refused to leave after numerous pleas and threats from the dean — until the dean had them cleared out due to a bomb threat in the building. Even then, the police only arrested those who fought them — nine were apprehended — and the rest went off without consequence yet again.

Columbia Grad Student Deportation Drama

On Saturday, ICE arrested a recent Columbia grad student named Mahmoud Khalil at his home. Khalil has been involved with many of the Columbia University protests and was a negotiator for the pro-Hamas encampment last year. He is an Albanian citizen of Palestinian descent who is married to a U.S citizen — his wife is eight months pregnant — and is a green card holder. According to several sources, Khalil was told by ICE that he was being arrested and deported because his visa had been revoked.

Here is where the kerfuffle ensues. A green card is very different from a student visa. It indicates a permanent resident of the United States, and Khalil’s lawyer is claiming wrongful arrest as a result.

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Hamas) has come out in his defense, saying, “They were revoking his student visa. Well, guess what? He doesn’t have a student visa. He’s a green card holder, legal permanent resident. Now, again, they proceed to engage the attorney … he or she asked for a warrant, they hung up on them. If you believe in constitutional rights, you understand that they’re targeting this person. And everyone knows he has been very vocal against the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza, and they’re targeting him and refusing him constitutional rights. Who’s next?”

Tlaib was far from the only Democrat scrambling to defend Khalil.

Could ICE agents have meant that his green card had been revoked? The answer is yes. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made that plain in a recent X post, stating, “We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.”

Security-related reasons are a very important way that a green card can be revoked, such as supporting terrorist groups or otherwise endangering the safety of the U.S. and its citizens. Khalil’s affiliation and support for Hamas — a designated terrorist group — seems to be the primary (and reasonable) motivation for his arrest and deportation.

Speaking of deportation, that’s not happening, either. Khalil’s deportation orders were stayed by a Manhattan federal judge because of the claim that ICE agents arrested him under false allegations and that he was being “targeted” because of his activism.

The judge ordered a hearing of this case for Wednesday, and Khalil cannot be deported “unless and until the Court orders otherwise.”

President Donald Trump made a statement regarding the arrest of Khalil, writing: “Following my previously signed Executive Orders, ICE proudly apprehended and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student on the campus of Columbia University. This is the first arrest of many to come. We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it. We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again. If you support terrorism, including the slaughtering of innocent men, women, and children, your presence is contrary to our national and foreign policy interests, and you are not welcome here. We expect every one of America’s Colleges and Universities to comply. Thank you!”

As Promised, Columbia University Is Getting Cut Off From the Federal Dole

Also in the pipeline for Columbia University is $400 million worth of federal grants and subsidies being cut off. Columbia has utterly failed to protect its Jewish students from the anti-Semitic onslaught brought on by agitators. Even President Joe Biden’s U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, Deborah Lipstadt, declined a teaching position at Columbia because of what she saw as its refusal to address the anti-Semitism on campus. She also refused the role because she didn’t want to be used as a token to ward off the wrath of the federal government for Columbia’s failing to enforce its own rules and protect Jewish faculty and students.

Columbia hasn’t backed away from its tacit support of the protesters in any meaningful way. Even now, in the wake of Khalil’s arrest, Columbia professors are canceling classes in solidarity with Khalil and writing emails educating students on resisting ICE.

This $400 million is the first salvo. Columbia stands to lose as much as $5 billion via the Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism.

In Conclusion

Columbia University only has itself to blame. It refuses to protect students and faculty. Based on the reactions of various professors, it hires people who happily fuel the flame of pro-Hamas hatred and shelter these protesters who damage property and even injure people. The university, by being apathetic and even antagonistic, has invited federal government intervention. And since the administration isn’t moved by morality and bylaws, one can only hope that it’s motivated by the restricted cash flow.

(Edited to reflect clarity on Khalil’s heritage.)