Neo-Nazis And White Supremacists Online React To The Arrest And Planned Deportation Of Pro-Palestinian Protest Leader Mahmoud Khalil

Mahmoud Khalil, a student activist and negotiator in the 2024 Columbia University pro-Palestinian campus protests, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on March 8, 2025, at his home in New York City. Khalil is married to a U.S. citizen, holds a green card, and is a legal permanent resident of the United States. The Department of Homeland Security highlighted a provision in immigration law which grants the secretary of state the authority to deport someone if the person is determined to have "serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States."[1]

Khalil was issued a notice to appear before an immigration judge for deportation proceedings on March 27 at the detention center in Louisiana where he is currently being held. A judge will determine whether Khalil's involvement in the protests posed a significant enough risk to justify the revocation of his green card and his subsequent deportation.

Online, neo-Nazis and white supremacists reacted to the decision, with many individuals criticizing the Trump administration for going after pro-Palestinian protestors instead of illegal immigrants.

The following report will provide an overview of extremist reactions to Khalil's arrest and potential deportation.

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Neo-Nazis' And White Supremacists' Reactions To Mahmoud Khalil's Arrest

An American neo-Nazi commented on X (formerly Twitter): "Trump is taking federal funds from universities that don't support Israel, deporting lawful residents that don't support Israel, and attempting to primary the only Republican who doesn't support Israel. Trump is an Israel First President."

On Gab, a white supremacist published a post on March 10 reading: "In support of Mahmoud Khalil If it were up to me, the US would be a Christians-Only Nation. Immigration would be exclusively limited to Whites and highly restricted. All of that said, the arrest and revocation of a pro-Hamas demonstrator at Columbia University is wrong. Mahmoud Khalil - as a permanent resident ('Green Card') - has a Constitutional right to free speech, and that includes verbally supporting groups others may not like and criticizing Jews. I am sure that Khalil and I have very little in common. That does not mean he should be arrested for taking a defiantly anti-Israel stance. If he broke the law in some other way (physical violence, destruction of property, etc), so be it. Revoke his residence status. But if his only 'crime' was anti-Jewish animus, then his arrest is wrong."

A neo-Nazi website published an article on March 11 titled: "Trump: Arrest of Palestinian Activist is 'First of Many to Come.'" It states: "It's nice that Trump is acknowledging this was a political arrest done pursuant to his executive order on combating 'anti-Semitism,' as that will no doubt be entered as evidence in court. He's justifying the decision by claiming Khalil is 'pro-terrorist' and 'support[s] terrorism' — all while he sits in the Oval Office with a golden pager gifted to him by Netanyahu to commemorate an Israeli terrorist attack on Lebanon…As I noted yesterday, Trump has faltered on his pledge to conduct 'mass deportations' of illegal aliens and is now moving to deport critics of Israel who are in America legally."

A neo-Nazi group shared an article which criticized the Trump administration for falling behind on campaign promises to deport illegal immigrants en masse: "The Trump administration, which has faltered on their pledge to conduct 'mass deportations' of illegal aliens, is now moving to deport critics of Israel who are in America legally."

An American white supremacist and former political candidate posted a video of a group of people with makeshift weapons running around on a street. She criticized the governmental and media focus on deporting pro-Palestine protestors rather than illegal immigrants, writing: "It's absurd that we're obsessing over a handful of 'legal' foreign Israeli critics, demanding their quick detention and deportation despite First Amendment concerns, while Mexican and other third-world anchor baby protesters roam free, committing crimes against Americans in our communities without facing any repercussions. Americans have every right to be furious that their government is going out of its way to enforce blasphemy laws and create safe zones for Israel, all while turning a blind eye to these assaults and other offenses perpetrated against them by third-world protesters who hold racial animosities toward them."

A Canadian neo-Nazi similarly questioned why Trump was focusing on pro-Palestinian protestors and those accused of antisemitism, rather than "anti-white" individuals: "I don't give a damn what happens to these pro-Palestinian protestors who are mostly anti-White Muslims and blue-haired communists. But Trump should be focused on arresting and deporting Marxists in the institutions for their anti-White violent hate speech, not this anti-Semitism stuff. Jews have dozens of well-funded organizations to defend them, White Gentiles have none (the few that exist are marginalized)."

He continued, asking: "Why only give Jews special consideration here, Mr. Trump? Why are Whites in general not afforded the same protections from violent communists openly calling for White genocide in American university classrooms? White Gentiles have been the target and focus of academia's wrath for decades now. Israel is a foreign country, whereas White Americans are the majority ethnic group in America and are being neglected here because Trump fears that defending Whites by name will get him bad press and Nazi accusations."

On X, a white supremacist user posted a meme mocking Trump supporters. The first section shows a man in a MAGA hat looking at the First Amendment saying, "I love this thing!" The second section shows a man with a Palestinian flag saying, "Fuck Israel." The MAGA supporter is now sobbing and saying, "You will be deported!!!"

On Telegram, a white supremacist alternative media outlet posted a link to their article on Mahmoud Khalil's arrest: "DHS detains lead negotiator of Columbia Gaza solidarity encampment after online campaign by Zionist groups - Columbia bent over backward to appease Jewish groups and the Trump administration still cut Federal funding anyway... Instead of outrage, the school's interim president responded to the cuts by vowing to continue its crackdown on pro-Palestine students..."