Mahmoud Khalil Was Detained by ICE Agent Honored by Trump at State of the Union
A federal judge has since blocked his potential deportation—for now
The Trump administration's attempt to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful permanent resident who hasn't been charged with any crime, represents a frightening erosion of First Amendment protections that threatens all Americans. This extraordinary action—detaining and attempting to remove someone for protected political speech—establishes a dangerous precedent where government can bypass due process and criminalize dissent. On Monday evening, a federal judge temporarily blocked the attempted deportation. Sign and share our petition to stand with millions of Americans who believe in protecting constitutional rights. Scroll to the bottom to participate in a letter-writing campaign.
—Ryan Grim
In 2019, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent Elvin Hernandez sat in the gallery watching the State of the Union address with First Lady Melania Trump. President Donald Trump celebrated Hernandez as a hero, praising the story of a boy from the Dominican Republic who went on to become an ICE agent and work on human trafficking cases. Hernandez stood and saluted as the president sang his praises.
“We are joined tonight by one of those law enforcement heroes: ICE Special Agent Elvin Hernandez. When Elvin was a boy, he and his family legally immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic. At the age of eight, Elvin told his dad he wanted to become a Special Agent. Today, he leads investigations into the scourge of international sex trafficking.”
That same special agent was present when plainclothes officers raided a Columbia University-owned residential building and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a recent graduate of Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs and a lead negotiator for the Gaza Solidarity Encampment in April 2024.
Hernandez’s involvement was made public in a declaration filed in a habeas corpus case filed by Khalil’s attorney, Amy Greer. In response, Judge Jesse E. Furman of the Southern District of New York ordered the government to halt Khalil’s potential deportation until a Wednesday hearing in Manhattan, which his lawyer told Drop Site is “the right decision.” "We are grateful the Court has taken immediate action to protect Mahmoud's rights," she said.
At 8:26 p.m. on Saturday, Khalil called Greer to make her aware of the unfolding situation. ICE’s Hernandez then took the phone and spoke to Greer directly, before eventually hanging up on her.
When Greer asked Hernandez why they were making the arrest and if they had a warrant, he replied that they had an administrative warrant and that the basis of the arrest was the Department of State revoking Khalil’s student visa. Greer then told the agent that Khalil does not have a student visa—he is a legal permanent resident with a green card. Hernandez responded that DHS had “revoked that too.”
No charges have been filed against Mahmoud Khalil. DHS Spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin released a statement claiming that Khalil’s activism was “aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.”
On Monday, the president released a statement directly taking credit for the raid and promising more to come. “Following my previously signed Executive Orders, ICE proudly apprehended and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student on the campus of Columbia University,” the post begins. A DHS official initially told Drop Site to contact the White House for information about the arrest.
According to the filing, Greer explained to Hernandez that they can’t simply revoke his green card without due process. Hernandez replied that he would have a chance to go before an immigration judge. When Greer then pushed back and asked what grounds the agents had to start immigration proceedings, Hernandez did not seem thrilled.
“When I began to ask more questions about what grounds they would have to put Mahmoud in immigration proceedings, Agent Hernandez started to grumble at me. I asked him to show me, Mahmoud, or his wife the warrant and he hung up on me,” Greer wrote in the legal filing.
His legal team and wife were unable to locate him for over 24 hours after his detention. According to the ICE database, Khalil was sent from New Jersey to the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center. His legal team is attempting to petition the court to return him to New York.
According to LinkedIn, Hernandez works for Homeland Security Investigations, a directorate of the Department of Homeland Security’s ICE. Created in 2010, HSI describes its role as to “shield our nation from global threats to ensure Americans are safe and secure.” It has offices in 235 U.S. cities and 90 offices in over 50 countries and boasts a budget of just under $2.5 billion for Fiscal Year 2025. According to its budget documents, HSI “combats transnational criminal enterprises that seek to exploit America’s legitimate trade, travel, and financial systems.”
A 2022 Department of Justice press release thanks supervisory special agent Elvin Hernandez for his work on the R. Kelly case.
ICE did not respond to a request for comment. An online letter-sending campaign calling for the immediate release of Khalil now has over 1.8 million letters sent.
Meghnad Bose contributed reporting. If you have information about Khalil’s ICE detention, contact Jason Paladino securely on Signal at jpal.01.
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