Trump Announces First Arrest Under Executive Order Targeting ‘Anti-American’ Students

President Donald Trump announced on Monday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a foreign student at Columbia University, as part of a broader crackdown on individuals accused of engaging in “pro-terrorist” activities on college campuses.

Trump shared the news on his social media platform, Truth Social, stating, “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.”

Crackdown on Campus Protests

The arrest follows the administration’s intensified efforts to target individuals involved in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, which Trump has characterized as anti-American and anti-Semitic. In his post, Trump warned that authorities would continue tracking and detaining individuals who participate in such activities.

“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,” he wrote.

Trump also claimed that some protesters are not students but “paid agitators” and vowed to “find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country—never to return again.”

Universities Expected to Comply

Trump’s statement put pressure on universities to take action against students involved in demonstrations that the administration deems supportive of terrorism. “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,” Trump declared.

The administration has not yet released further details on Khalil’s case, including the specific charges against him. However, the arrest signals a tough new stance from the White House, with Trump making it clear that more actions will follow.

Columbia University has yet to issue an official response to the arrest.