Federal agents raid Columbia dorm rooms as university expels students

We are also looking at whether Columbia's handling of earlier incidents violated civil rights laws and included terrorist crimes,

Blanche said

Just last night, we worked with the Department of Homeland Security to execute search warrants from an investigation into Columbia University for harboring and concealing illegal aliens on its campus,

Blanche said

It is very important to Mr. Khalil to be able to continue his protected political speech, advocating and protesting for the rights of Palestinians — both domestically and abroad,

the lawsuit said, noting that Khalil was planning to speak on a panel at the upcoming premiere in Copenhagen, Denmark, of a documentary in which he is featured

Let me be clear: Hamas is a terrorist organization. It has the blood of American citizens on his hands,

Blanche added

Jameel Jafferattorney with American Civil Liberties Union

The subjugation of universities to official power is a hallmark of autocracy. No one should be under any illusions about what’s going on here.”

Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, condemned the letter in a statement

I understand the immense stress our community is under,

she said

We are committed at all times to advancing our mission, supporting our students, and addressing all forms of discrimination and hatred on our campus,

the spokesperson said

We expect your immediate compliance with these critical next steps, after which we hope to open a conversation about immediate and long-term structural reforms that will return Columbia to its original mission of innovative research and academic excellence,

the letter states

We expect your immediate compliance with these critical next steps,

officials from the Department of Education, ... General Services Administration, and Department of Health and Human Services wrote

Columbia is committed to enforcing the University’s Rules and Policies and improving our disciplinary processes,

the university said

History shows that a university that does not advocate for the academic freedom of its own members is opening itself to further attacks on academic freedom in the future,

said historian Eraldo Souza dos Santos, who is currently affiliated with Cornell University

Linda McMahonsecretary of Education

The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite US campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better.”

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon was quoted as saying in the missive

It should, instead, be trying, within its own capacities, to offer legal and public-facing support to a generation of students who belong to the same long struggle against segregation and apartheid that took shape between the 1960s and 1980s,

he told Al Jazeera

Jelani Cobbwednesday,

If you have a social media page, make sure it is not filled with commentary on the Middle East,

the journalism school’s dean, Jelani Cobb told students

The Student Workers of Columbia sent you a letter asking for assurance that Columbia would protect noncitizen students, faculty and staff. In response we received a vague reply from your office, which seemed to reference a completely different topic. Rather than standing up for the Columbia community, the University’s leadership has stood by or, worse, accelerated and enabled these threats,

the body wrote

Columbia University ... has fundamentally failed to protect American students and faculty from antisemitic violence and harassment,

the letter said

The government’s unlawful policy of targeting noncitizens for arrest and removal based on protected speech is…viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment,

Khalil’s lawyers led by Amy Belsher of the New York Civil Liberties Foundation wrote in their first filing since the government articulated its legal basis for arresting Khalil

I am writing heartbroken to inform you that we had federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security in two University residences tonight,

she wrote

The University is obligated to comply with the law,

Armstrong said, in part

I understand the immense stress our community is under. Despite the unprecedented challenges, Columbia University will remain a place where the pursuit of knowledge is cherished and fiercely protected, where the rule of law and due process is respected and never taken for granted, and where all members of our community are valued and able to thrive. These are the principles we uphold and that guide us every day,

Armstrong said