DHS agents search two Columbia residences as the university disciplines students for ongoing protests
Department of Homeland Security agents executed search warrants on two Columbia University residences on Thursday evening, just days after recent graduate and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by immigration authorities, according to a statement from the university.
Department of Homeland Security agents executed search warrants on two Columbia University residences on Thursday evening, just days after recent graduate and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by immigration authorities, according to a statement from the university.
Katrina Armstrong, the university's interim president, said that no arrests were made, no items were removed, and no further action was needed from authorities. She said that DHS served the university with judicial search warrants signed by a federal magistrate judge to conduct the search.
"Our University Public Safety was present at all times," Armstrong added. "Columbia continues to make every effort to ensure that our campus, students, faculty, and staff are safe. Columbia is committed to upholding the law, and we expect city, state, and federal agencies to do the same."
Earlier on Thursday, seven current students sued the school in a bid to block it from producing disciplinary records to a House committee as school officials said they were sanctioning students involved in pro-Palestinian rallies last spring.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that the committee's request for the records violates the First Amendment and that the university's compliance with the committee constitutes a breach of contract.
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