On Thursday, a large number of people gathered in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York City to voice their disapproval of the arrest and imprisonment of Mahmoud Khalil, a student at Columbia University. 

Khalil is a target of deportation by the Trump administration due to his advocacy in support of Palestinian rights, as Fox News reported.

After his detention Khalil, is being held in an immigration jail in Louisiana following his arrest in New York on Saturday.

The arrest has prompted a number of individuals, including civil liberty organizations, Democratic congressmen, and the United Nations special rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian territories, to express their disapproval through a variety of means.

The Protest

According to estimates provided by the New York Police Department, there were 150 or more individuals who gathered at Trump Tower, which is located on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

Images that were shared on social media showed people carrying posters that read "Fight NAZIS, not students" and "Free Mahmoud, free Palestine."

A few of the demonstrators were seen being arrested by the police in the video. According to the New York Police Department, 98 arrests were made.

Kaz Daughtry, who is the deputy mayor for public safety, stated that there were no injuries and that all of the demonstrators had been evacuated from the premises.

The Fallout

When asked for a response, the Trump Organization did not immediately provide one.

With the arrest of Khalil on Saturday, the Trump administration started carrying out its campaign pledge to deport activists who were born outside of the United States and who took part in the wave of demonstrations that occurred on college campuses in the United States in 2017.

The demonstrations took place after Israel launched a military assault on Gaza, which immediately followed an attack in October 2023 carried out by the terrorist organization Hamas, which was in control of the Palestinian territory.

Khalil, who is a lawful permanent resident of the United States, has been a key player in the pro-Palestinian student movement at Columbia University.

Outrageous Protests

Columbia University is most likely the most prominent of the hundreds of campuses in the United States where demonstrations broke out in the previous year.

The President of the United States has referred to Khalil as a "Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student" on social media and has stated that his arrest is the first "of many to come."