White House pressures Columbia University as it seeks to deport pro-Palestinian activists
The Hindu
White House accuses Columbia University of hindering deportation efforts, leading to federal funding cuts and student arrests.
The White House complained Tuesday (March 11, 2025) that Columbia University is refusing to help federal agents find people being sought as part of the government’s effort to deport participants in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, as the administration continued to punish the school by yanking federal research dollars.
Immigration enforcement agents on Saturday (March 8, 2025) arrested and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a legal U.S. resident and Palestinian activist who played a prominent part in protests at Columbia last year. He is now facing possible deportation.
U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed additional arrests. In a briefing with reporters in Washington, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said federal authorities have been “using intelligence” to identify other people involved in campus demonstrations critical of Israel that the administration considered to be antisemitic and “pro-Hamas.”
She said Columbia had been given names and was refusing to help the Department of Homeland Security “to identify those individuals on campus.”
“As the president said very strongly in his statement yesterday, he is not going to tolerate that,” Ms. Leavitt said.
A Columbia spokesperson didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.
Last week, the Trump administration announced it was pulling $400 million in grants and contracts from Columbia, accusing the school of failing to stop antisemitism on campus. As part of those cuts, the National Institutes of Health late Monday (March 10, 2025) it was cutting more than $250 million in funding, which included more than 400 grants.
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