Pro-Palestinian activist's arrest will be 'first of many,' vows Trump

US President Donald Trump has said the detention of a pro-Palestinian activist in New York last week will be the “first arrest of many”, as his administration cracks down on those who participated in university campus protests against Israel and the war in Gaza.

Mahmoud Khalil was arrested on Saturday over his role in the protest movement at Columbia University. The former graduate student is currently being held at an immigration facility in Louisiana.

Although he has not been accused of a crime related to his activism, the US government has indicated that it wants to deport Khalil, who is a legal US resident.

A federal judge in New York said the 30-year-old could not be deported while the court considers a legal challenge brought by his lawyers.

Writing on Truth Social on Monday, Trump vowed that Khalil’s case would not be the last, accusing him and others of “pro-terrorist, antisemitic, anti-American activity”.

“We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathisers from our country — never to return again,” the US president wrote. No evidence was provided to back Trump's claims.

All domestic universities and colleges should “comply” with his administration’s position on pro-Palestinian protests, the US president added.

The US Education Department warned dozens of universities on Monday that they would lose federal money if they did not take measures, including tackling antisemitism. This came a few days after Columbia had $400 million (€367m) of funding cut by Trump’s government.

The US president’s clampdown has been strongly criticised by civil rights groups and some university professors and students, who accuse his administration of attempting to stifle criticism of Israel.

Michael Thaddeus, a maths professor at Columbia, said Trump’s policies were designed to instil fear. “Our message to Washington is that we are not silenced, we are not afraid, and we stand together, determined to defeat this ongoing assault on our fundamental rights,” he added.

In reaction to Khalil's arrest, a few hundred demonstrators gathered on Monday near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in New York to call for his release.

Khalil has said that he was a spokesperson for — and not a leader of — the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia.