The Trump administration has so far provided no evidence to link Khalil to terrorism [GETTY]
The US Secretary of State says the administration will continue to revoke visas for foreign students following the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, following his detention over his pro-Palestine activism.
Speaking to CBS News’s ‘Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan’ on Sunday, Marco Rubio said Khalil was “going to leave, and so are others”.
“We’re going to keep doing it,” Rubio said when asked about the arrest. “We never would have let him in. We never would have let him in to begin with”, alleging that the activist “lied” about his reasons for coming to the United States.
“If you are in this country, to promote Hamas, to promote terrorist organisations, to participate in vandalism, to participate in acts of rebellion and riots on campus. We never would have let you in if we had known that and now that we know it, you’re going to leave.”
He added that the administration is approving visa revocations daily.
When pressed on whether he could provide any evidence tying Khalil to terrorism, or if his targeting was simply because he was advocating a “controversial” political viewpoint, Rubio said: “Yeah, they take over. I mean, do you not- I mean, you should watch the news. These guys take over entire buildings…”
“This specific individual [Khalil] was the spokesperson – was the negotiator – on negotiating on behalf of people that took over a campus,” Rubio said, adding that being a negotiator is a crime in and of itself.
“If he had told us, I’m going over there, and I’m going over there to become the spokesperson and one of the leaders of a movement that’s going to turn one of your allegedly elite colleges upside down, people can’t even go to school, library buildings being vandalized. We never would have let him in.”
“We don’t want- we don’t need these people in our country that we never should have allowed them in in the first place.”
Rubio has previously denied Khalil’s arrest was a suppression of free speech, asserting that it was about US immigration laws.
Thirty-year-old Palestinian-American Mahmoud Khalil was detained on 8 March by ICE officials despite holding a green card, sparking fear amongst university students who have expressed pro-Palestine views.
Khalil served as a negotiator for students during Columbia University’s encampment protests for Palestine.
US President Trump hailed the arrest and said it would be the first of many, accusing the activist of engaging in “pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity”.
While Khalil’s deportation has been paused, it is unclear when or whether the activist will be released.
