New York, NY – March 15, 2025 – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has released a video capturing the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent pro-Palestinian activist and former Columbia University graduate student, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
The footage, recorded by Khalil’s eight-months-pregnant wife, Noor Abdalla, highlights the dramatic encounter involving plainclothes officers from multiple federal agencies.
The arrest took place on the night of March 8, in the lobby of the couple’s university-owned apartment building in upper Manhattan.
The video, which spans over eight minutes, shows several unidentified men—later confirmed to be ICE agents—surrounding Khalil as he and his wife returned home from a Ramadan dinner.
The agents, dressed in plain clothes rather than official uniforms, can be heard informing Khalil that he is “going to be under arrest” and instructing him to “stop resisting,” despite his wife’s audible protests that he was not resisting.
Noor Abdalla is seen in the footage attempting to get answers from the agents, repeatedly asking for their names and which agency they represent. The officers refuse to identify themselves, with one responding curtly, “We don’t give our names.” As Khalil is handcuffed and led to an unmarked vehicle, Abdalla’s distress is palpable—she cries out in Arabic, “My love, how can I call you?”—while Khalil reassures her to contact his lawyer. “This felt like a kidnapping because it was,” Abdalla later said in a statement released through the ACLU. “Officers in plainclothes—who refused to show us a warrant, speak with our attorney, or even tell us their names—forced my husband into an unmarked car and took him away from me.”
Khalil is facing deportation over his leadership role in multiple pro-Hamas protests that became violent and blocked Jewish students from attending classes.