Arrests Made at Trump Tower as Protests Over Mahmoud Khalil’s Detention Continue

The protest was the latest in a series of demonstrations following Khalil’s arrest by immigration authorities on Saturday evening.

President Donald Trump’s administration has announced plans to deport Khalil, a Palestinian married to a US citizen, citing his role in pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University.

Khalil’s lawyers and supporters argue that the administration is deliberately equating criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza with support for terrorism. Civil rights groups have condemned his arrest, calling him a “political prisoner.”

Protest leaders said they chose Trump Tower as the site of their demonstration to directly confront the president. The building houses both Trump’s personal New York residence and the headquarters of the Trump Organization.

“As Jews, we are taking over Trump Tower to register our mass refusal,” Jewish Voice for Peace, which organized the demonstration, wrote on the social media platform X.

“We will not stand by as this fascist regime attempts to criminalize Palestinians and all those calling for an end to the Israeli government’s US-funded genocide of the Palestinian people. And we will never stop fighting for a free Palestine.”

Actress Deborah Winger was among the demonstrators and told The Associated Press she was standing in solidarity with Khalil.

“I’m standing up for Mahmoud Khalil, who has been abducted illegally and taken to an undisclosed location,” she said. “Does that sound like America to you?”

Reporting from New York, Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey described several “dramatic moments” as police arrested 98 protesters while clearing the building’s lobby.

“The demonstrators entered casually, dressed as typical tourists,” Saloomey said. “Then they removed their jackets, revealing red T-shirts symbolizing their cause. In support of Mahmoud Khalil, they declared, ‘Not in our name’.”

“Ninety-eight of them were taken away in handcuffs, processed, and charged with misdemeanor offenses.”

Khalil Remains in Detention Amid Legal Battle

Although a federal judge has temporarily blocked Khalil’s deportation while his legal case proceeds, he remains detained in Louisiana.

His lawyers have requested that he be transferred to New York, both for legal proceedings and to be closer to his wife, who is eight months pregnant.

During a court hearing on Wednesday, Khalil’s attorney, Ramzi Kassem, stated that his client was “identified, targeted, detained, and is being processed for deportation on account of his advocacy for Palestinian rights.”

The Trump administration has remained resolute in its efforts to deport Khalil.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Khalil is subject to removal under a law that allows the deportation of green-card holders deemed by the US secretary of state to be “adversarial to the foreign policy and national security interests” of the country.

She reiterated the administration’s claim that Khalil supports “terrorists” but did not provide evidence.

Trump himself has stated that Khalil’s arrest is the “first of many to come.”

Legal Battle Over Student Records

Separately, on Thursday, eight Columbia University students—including Khalil—filed a lawsuit to prevent the university from complying with a federal request to disclose student disciplinary records.

The House Committee on Education and Labor has sought records of students involved in pro-Palestine protests as part of its investigation into anti-Semitism on campus.

The students argue that the congressional request violates their First Amendment rights and their privacy under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a law governing how universities manage student records.

“Entities like the university feel pressure to cooperate with the government in its efforts to chill and punish protected speech,” the lawsuit states.