Federal authorities have detained college students and professors at schools across the United States since the Trump administration began its crackdown on alleged Hamas sympathizers and those with expired visas.
The administration is now facing legal challenges in at least two separate student detention cases, though that number will likely increase in the coming months.
“They are not just random acts of law enforcement,” national security and human rights lawyer Irina Tsukerman told Fox News Digital of the arrests. “They are part of a comprehensive domestic national security strategy that also involves investigation of universities for facilitating illegal activity, including acts of antisemitism and general violence, material support for terrorist organizations, and other violations that caused tremendous inconvenience, distress, and even terror to students, staffers, and the general population alike.”
Tsukerman noted that President Donald Trump signed executive orders to combat antisemitism on college campuses and illegal immigration soon after taking office, so the arrests “should have come as no surprise.”
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The human rights lawyer also added that “part of the reason the administration is going hard after some of these students now is because the universities did not do their job in the first place in vetting individuals coming into the country or in holding them accountable after they engaged in repeated violations both of U.S. law and campus regulations in bullying, harassing, intimidating students, causing mass obstruction and engaging in bigotry and violation of [the] non-discrimination statute.”
Here are the students, professors and employees who have been detained so far since Trump took office in January, each under a different set of circumstances:
Rasha Alawieh, a 34-year-old Brown University assistant professor and physician specializing in kidney transplants from Lebanon, was detained and deported earlier this month at Boston Logan International Airport while coming back from a trip to Lebanon.
Alawieh had an H1-B visa, according to her attorneys, but allegedly expressed support for and attended the funeral of a slain Hezbollah leader responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans.
“Last month, Rasha Alawieh traveled to Beirut, Lebanon, to attend the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah – a brutal terrorist who led Hezbollah, responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade terror spree,” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to Fox News Digital on March 17. “Alawieh openly admitted to this to CBP officers, as well as her support of Nasrallah.”
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“A visa is a privilege, not a right – glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be denied. This is commonsense security,” McLaughlin added.
Federal authorities alleged that they also conducted a search of Alawieh’s phone and found “sympathetic photos and videos” of Hezbollah leaders, as well as materials showing “various other Hezbollah militants” in a deleted folder.
“With the discovery of these photographs and videos, CBP questioned Dr. Alawieh and determined that her true intentions in the United States could not be determined,” DOJ lawyers wrote, according to the Providence Journal. “As such, CBP canceled her visa and deemed Dr. Alawieh inadmissible to the United States.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the attorney representing Alawieh and Brown Medicine.
Alawieh’s cousin filed a federal lawsuit on March 14 against DHS and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, arguing that she was detained “without any justification and without permitting them access to their counsel.”
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“Despite repeated requests from Dr. Alawieh’s family members and a volunteer attorney, CBP refuses to provide any justification for their detention, refuses to allow the attorneys to talk to Dr. Alawieh, and refuses to provide assurances that Dr. Alawieh will not be deported to Lebanon at 7:45 pm tonight, March 14, 2025, immediately following this detention, even though two U.S. government entities, the Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) have approved Dr. Alawieh’s H1B petition and visa,” the lawsuit states.
Just last week, a federal judge issued a restraining order against federal officials to stop their efforts to detain Columbia University student Yunseo Chung, who allegedly engaged in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, after she filed a lawsuit against the government.
A DHS spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital that ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) “will investigate individuals engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization. Based on investigative findings, the Department of State may make a determination which may result in visa revocation or other action impacting the immigration status of an alien in the U.S. Upon the determination from the Department of State, ICE will take appropriate enforcement actions.”
Chung, who moved to the United States from South Korea when she was 7, is suing Trump and several members of his administration after federal authorities tried to arrest and deport her earlier this month.
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In the lawsuit, Chung’s attorneys say that the government’s pursuit of the Columbia student is an “unjustifiable assault on First Amendment.”
The lawsuit states that Chung was a participant in the anti-Israel protests, not a leader, and was “one of a large group of college students” expressing “shared concerns” over the war in Gaza. Chung, according to the lawsuit, “visited” the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, a number of tents organized in the center of campus, but does not state whether she stayed there. The lawsuit also makes it clear that she did not make public statements or engage in high-profile activities while at the protests.
The lawsuit states that on March 8, an ICE official signed an administrative arrest warrant for Chung and federal law enforcement went to Chung’s parents’ house the next day seeking to arrest her.
An ICE official allegedly told Chung’s attorneys on March 10 that her green card had been “revoked,” according to the lawsuit. The government has the authority to rescind permanent resident status if they believe a person has violated U.S. immigration law.
A judge on March 25 temporarily blocked ICE from deporting the student.
ICE agents on March 26 arrested and detained University of Alabama doctoral student Alireza Doroudi, an Iranian national who was studying mechanical engineering.
DHS told Fox News Digital in a statement last week that he “posed significant national security concerns.”
“ICE HSI made this arrest in accordance with the State Department’s revocation of Doroudi’s student visa,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement.
Doroudi reportedly came to the U.S. in January 2023 on an F-1 student visa after “clearing all immigration checks,” but it was revoked six months later, according to student newspaper The Crimson White.
Doroudi’s attorney, David Rozas, told Fox News Digital this week that the doctoral student “is in good standing with his I-20 and SEVIS status.”
“He has an impressive resume and has been a significant support to the university’s mechanical engineering department. The only infraction he has is a minor speeding ticket,” Rozas said. “He has never participated in any government or political protests, nor has he been involved in any social media or in-person groups expressing public opinions on any matter. To quote his fiance, he is simply a student in the United States pursuing the American dream. He entered the country legally and has always complied with U.S. laws.”
Rozas said Doroudi’s attorneys “are perplexed by his detention and are hopeful for a swift resolution.”
Federal officials detained former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, who allegedly helped lead pro-Palestinian protests at the Ivy League school in New York City, last month.
Khalil’s case has garnered worldwide attention and sparked protests in New York City.
The 30-year-old Algerian citizen is currently detained in Louisiana.
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Khalil, who was born in a Syrian refugee camp and holds legal U.S. permanent resident status, entered the United States in 2022 on a student visa and later filed to become a permanent resident in 2024.
Attorneys for the Justice Department are arguing for Khalil’s deportation, saying he failed to disclose his ties to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) when he applied for his green card.
Israel has accused 12 UNRWA employees of being involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks against Israel. They also alleged Khalil did not reveal his work at the Syria office in the British embassy in Beirut, Lebanon.
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Marc Van Der Hout, one of Khalil’s lawyers, and Khalil’s wife, Noor Abdalla, characterized Khalil as a “political prisoner detained at an ICE facility in Louisiana” in statements published to Instagram last month.
Khalil’s lawyers have argued that his support for Palestinians is protected by free speech and that the administration’s deportation efforts are an effort to prevent his “current and future speech” and to deter others from doing the same.
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“The Policy, including as-applied to Mr. Khalil, does not give the proper notice to anyone residing in the country which of their otherwise-lawful speech, opinions, beliefs, or advocacy will result in the government targeting them for detention and removal, and it provides government officials with unfettered discretion to target disfavored speech,” the lawyers wrote.
His lawyers also noted that the administration does not define who qualifies as a “Hamas supporter.” They say that there is no clarity on Khalil’s activities that are “aligned to Hamas.”
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On March 18, Khalil wrote: “In the weeks ahead, students, advocates, and elected officials must unite to defend the right to protest for Palestine. At stake are not just our voices, but the fundamental civil liberties of all. Knowing fully that this moment transcends my individual circumstances, I hope nonetheless to be free to witness the birth of my first-born child.”
Leqaa Kordia was the second person who attended pro-Palestinian rallies at Columbia University detained by ICE last month following Khalil’s arrest and after another Columbia student opted to self-deport.
Kordia, who is from the West Bank, had a student visa canceled in 2022 “for lack of attendance” and was detained by the agency for the outdated visa. DHS told Fox News Kordia was previously arrested in April for an alleged role in the protests. The New York Police Department, however, told Fox News Digital it does not have an arrest record under that name.
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“Columbia has no record of this individual being registered as a current or former student at the University,” the university said in a statement.
Noem said “[i]t is a privilege to be granted a visa to live and study in the United States of America” in a statement posted to X.
“When you advocate for violence and terrorism, that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country. I am glad to see one of the Columbia University terrorist sympathizers use the CBP Home app to self-deport,” Noem said.
Alleged Columbia protester Ranjani Srinivasan self-deported back to India last month after having her student visa canceled.
ICE detained Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national and Tufts University graduate student, last month in Somerville, Massachusetts.
“We have recently learned and verified that Rumeysa Öztürk, the student who was detained by federal immigration authorities yesterday, is currently being held in Louisiana,” Tufts University President Sunil Kumar said in a statement. “We recognize how frightening and distressing this situation is for her, her loved ones, and the larger community here at Tufts, especially our international students, staff, and faculty who may be feeling vulnerable or unsettled by these events.”
He added that the “footage of Rumeysa’s arrest” released on March 26 “is disturbing.”
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A DHS spokesperson told Fox News on March 26 that Ozturk was “granted the privilege to be in this country on a visa.”
“DHS and ICE investigations found Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans,” the spokesperson said. “A visa is a privilege not a right. Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is commonsense security.”
The legal team representing Ozturk told Fox News she had a valid F-1 visa status prior to her arrest. They also said no charges have been filed against their client and are demanding her release.
“Rumeysa was heading to meet with friends to break her Ramadan fast on the evening of March 25th when she was detained near her home in Somerville, MA by DHS agents,” Khanbabai Immigration Law told Fox News in a statement last week. “We are unaware of her whereabouts and have not been able to contact her. No charges have been filed against Rumeysa to date that we are aware of.”
Federal officials are arguing for her deportation. She has a hearing in federal court on Thursday afternoon.
In February, federal officials detained Kseniia Petrova, a Russian scientist working at Harvard Medical School, at Boston Logan International Airport while she was attempting to return from a trip to Paris.
Petrova, a bioinformatician at the Kirschner Lab, was bringing back frog embryos at the request of a professor at a French lab Harvard is collaborating with, her attorney Gregory Romanovsky confirmed to Fox News.
The sample was picked up in Paris and was supposed to be brought to Harvard and Petrova was unaware she needed to claim them at customs. Officials apparently revoked her visa at the airport instead of following protocol, Romanovsky said.
“As upset as I am with ICE, they are not at fault and are just doing their job,” he says.
Her attorney noted that Petrova was previously detained in Russia following anti-war protests when conflict initially broke out between Russian and Ukraine.
Like other detainees, Petrova is being held at an ICE facility in Louisiana.
“Despite having lawyers and the fact she did not do anything illegal in the first place, she is still there, and we have no idea when she will be paroled (or released, however simply released is unlikely),” Cora Anderson, who works with the Russian scientist, shared on Facebook.
ICE last month arrested Badar Khan Suri, an Indian citizen and Georgetown University postdoctoral student, after he allegedly shared pro-Hamas propaganda online.
Federal Judge Patricia Giles ordered that the Indian citizen “shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court issues a contrary order.” He, like other students, is being detained in Louisiana.
The postdoctoral scholar student, in the United States on a student visa, was accused of “actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media,” a senior DHS official said in a statement.
“Suri has close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas.”
The agency did not name the suspected terrorist or Hamas advisor. The New York Times reported that Suri’s wife is Palestinian American. Her father is Ahmed Yousef, a former advisor to Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader Israel assassinated last year in Iran.
Anti-Israel protester Momodou Taal, a Cornell University international graduate student, dismissed his case against the Trump administration on Monday after he was threatened with deportation. He will now leave the country voluntarily.
The Ivy League student, who holds dual citizenship in the United Kingdom and Gambia, said that although he intended to progress the lawsuit, he decided to leave the country instead, fearing for his safety.
DHS revoked the student’s visa after he allegedly participated in anti-Israel student activities and praised the “resistance” against Israel several times on his X account. Despite being accepted on a student visa in 2022, Taal has also posted about his “hatred” for the U.S. and called for “the end of the US empire.”
“Today I took the decision to leave the United States, free and with my head held high,” Taal wrote in a post on X on Monday.
“Given what we have seen across the United States, I have lost faith that a favourable ruling from the courts would guarantee my personal safety and ability to express my beliefs,” he continued.
He wrote in a Wednesday post on X: “Palestine is the ultimate clarifier.”
ICE detained an unnamed, international graduate student at the University of Minnesota last month.
The university said the student, who was enrolled at UM’s Carlson School of Management, was arrested at an off-campus residence.
“This is not related to student protests,” a senior DHS official told Fox News Digital in a statement at the time. “The individual in question was arrested after a visa revocation by the State Dept. related to a prior criminal history for a DUI.”
Tsukerman, the national security and human rights lawyer who spoke with Fox News Digital, said “no one has an automatic right to enter the” United States.
“It can be reviewed by the U.S. government. It can be denied on the basis of security threats it presents, and even if you are a legal resident, if you lie on your application, or if you engage in repeated acts of violence or other criminal offenses, or even if simply travel out of country for longer than the law provides, you can be denied a path to citizenship and you can be deported, and we are seeing that,” she explained.
Questions do remain, however, about the recent deportations and how they will impact free speech on college campuses.
“There are many people who are concerned that while the Trump administration is doing the right thing in reviewing individuals who may be presenting a danger to the country and to fellow students and faculty on campuses, the way to go about it is not necessarily clear,” Tsukerman said.
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She also suggested the arrests and deportations could “backfire with future administrations” that “hold a completely different ideological or political line and who decide that a different political perspective is unfounded and people should be deported for that reason.”
“If you start mass deportation based simply on ideology alone and without weighing in on how much of it is crossing the line of outright extremism and how much is simple political disagreement, you can create a very uncomfortable climate that becomes unwelcoming to people who can contribute, who can change their minds, who could be persuaded by better education and who can evolve as they study or work in the United States,” she said.
Fox News’ Alexis McAdams, Danielle Wallace, Rachel Wolf, Sarah Rumpf, Cameron Arcand, Christina Shaw and Pilar Arias contributed to this report.
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