US alleges Columbia student covered up his work for UNRWA

24/3/2025 12:17

The U.S. government has alleged that Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian demonstrator Mahmoud Khalil withheld that he worked for a United Nations Palestinian relief agency in his visa application, saying that should be grounds for deportation.



The U.N. agency known as UNRWA provides food and healthcare to Palestinian refugees and has become a flashpoint in the Israeli war in Gaza. Israel contends that 12 UNRWA employees were involved in Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, leading the U.S. to halt funding of the group.



The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump on March 8 detained Khalil, a prominent figure in the pro-Palestinian campus protests that rocked the New York City campus last year, and sent him to Louisiana in an attempt to remove him from the country.



The case has drawn attention as a test of free speech rights, with supporters of Khalil saying he was targeted for publicly disagreeing with U.S. policy on Israel and its occupation of Gaza. Khalil has called himself a political prisoner.



The U.S. alleges Khalil's presence or activities in the country would have serious foreign policy consequences.