At least 250 people gathered Tuesday afternoon in Chicago’s Federal Plaza for an “emergency protest” against the arrest and possible deportation of an activist who helped lead Columbia University’s pro-Palestinian encampment in New York.
Demonstrators rallied behind signs that read “Protecting students is freedom of speech” and called for Mahmoud Khalil’s release. One speaker drew a parallel between Khalil’s detention and the long-promised and much-publicized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids that marked the earliest weeks of President Donald Trump’s second term, saying officials had “used his immigration status as a weapon.”
“We want justice, you say how?” the protesters chanted. “Release Mahmoud Khalil now.”
ICE officers on Saturday arrested Khalil, a recent Columbia graduate with a green card, accusing him of leading “activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” Khalil, who is Palestinian, represented student activists last spring as they negotiated with Columbia administrators over an end to the encampment that sprang up on campus in opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza.
Trump declared on social media that Khalil would be “the first arrest of many” in a crackdown on student activism against the war, which is currently subject to a fragile ceasefire. Trump’s administration warned Monday of potential enforcement actions against Columbia, Northwestern University and 58 other colleges and universities across the country “if they do not fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus,” according to a news release from the Department of Education.
To Robert Sharp, who attended the demonstration with his daughter and granddaughter, Khalil’s “unjust arrest and seizure” was a frightening sign of what he described as “lawlessness” from the new administration.
“Campus protest has to be permitted,” said Sharp, 74.
Sharp, who lives in the Loop, said he and his family hurried to get their shoes on when they heard of the protest. It’s at least his third in the last two weeks, he said.
Anna Strzepek, 19, said she came to Federal Plaza to make it clear that “this is not all right.”
“ICE detaining someone for what seems like political reasons is particularly frightening,” said Strzepek, a Loop resident.
Off to one side of the rally, a small knot of people faced northeast for one of the five daily prayers said by observant Muslims while protest chants continued. Lindsay Michael’s 7-year-old son ran back and forth, jumping on and off the concrete benches.
“It’s important for him to understand his right to protest,” said Michael, 49 and a Rogers Park resident. “When we feel so powerless, it’s even more important to come out.”
Khalil is set to appear March 21 in immigration court in Louisiana, where he is being held.
The Associated Press contributed.
Originally Published: