No, Candace Owens, Mahmoud Khalil’s case is not …

The Trump administration’s detainment and possible deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and former Columbia University graduate student, is not the same as the Biden administration’s politically motivated persecution.

Prominent conservative commentator Candace Owens has publicly criticized the Trump administration’s detainment of Mahmoud Khalil. Owens’ critique centers on the lack of transparency surrounding Khalil’s detention and draws parallels to the politically motivated persecutions under the Biden administration. She has further argued that this action, intended to combat antisemitism and protect Jewish students, has instead backfired, increasing their vulnerability rather than enhancing their safety. 

In her commentary, Owens stated, “This is the same playbook we saw under Biden — take someone who disagrees with the narrative, slap a scary label on them, and lock them up without explaining why. Transparency is dead, and it’s always the same people paying the price.” She positioned Khalil’s case as a continuation of a broader trend of government overreach targeting those who challenge prevailing orthodoxies, whether conservative or pro-Palestinian.

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Khalil was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on March 8, 2025, and faces deportation proceedings, with his green card status under threat of revocation. The primary reason cited by the Trump administration for his detention and the move to revoke his immigration status is his alleged leadership in activities aligned with Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, during pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University in 2024.

Khalil’s legal team and supporters counter that he was detained for his peaceful activism and vocal criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza, not for any criminal or terrorist activity. They argue that his detention is a retaliatory move by the Trump administration to suppress pro-Palestinian speech, violating his First Amendment rights as a legal permanent resident (green card holder).

With all due respect to Candace Owen’s arguments, I think these two situations are distinguishable in some very important ways. Khalil’s detainment is an immigration-based, national security action allegation rooted in terrorism against a non-citizen with limited rights.

Providing material support to Hamas, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), is a federal crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison or life if death results. Members or supporters of Hamas are barred from entering the U.S., and resident aliens can face deportation or visa revocation if found to be affiliated, as seen with Khalil. Hamas’s financial assets in the U.S. or under U.S. jurisdiction are frozen, and transactions with the group are prohibited.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have stated that Khalil’s actions as a key organizer in these protests, which they claim involved support for Hamas, justify his arrest and potential deportation under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Specifically, the administration has invoked Section 237(a)(4)(C), which allows the Secretary of State to deem an individual deportable if their presence or activities in the U.S. are believed to have “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.”

The DHS has accused Khalil of distributing pro-Hamas propaganda, including fliers bearing the Hamas logo, and organizing protests that disrupted campus operations and harassed Jewish students, though no specific criminal charges have been filed against him. The Wall Street Journal reports that Khalil “belongs to Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) and was a lead negotiator during last spring’s anti-Israel encampment on the campus. Those protests glorified Hamas. CUAD was also a key player in the school’s encampment, which was a ‘Zionist-free zone,’ a designation that excluded Jews from a large part of campus. In October 2024, CUAD formalized its support for Hamas and again celebrated the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre.”

If the government’s claims hold, Khalil handing out fliers explicitly praising Hamas’s October 7 attack or leading chants calling for armed resistance are, in fact, actions that could legally qualify as material support. His leadership in protests that disrupted campus life can be seen as advancing Hamas’s destabilizing goals.

These facts starkly contrast with the Biden administration’s politically motivated persecution, which labeled American parents’ objections to their children’s covert gender transitioning during a school board meeting (rights as citizens and taxpayers) as potential domestic terrorists. Under the Biden Administration, even Catholics who attend a Latin Mass were investigated by the FBI with no proof of any crime or incidents of violence. 

For Khalil, as the WSJ article also points out, a green card comes with legal obligations, including the renunciation of terrorism. Under 8 USC 1182, an individual is considered “inadmissible” if they “endorse or espouse terrorist activity or persuade others to endorse or espouse terrorist activity” or if they are “a representative of … a political, social, or other group that endorses or espouses terrorist … activity.”

In addition, Khalil’s protest activities, including the encampment in 2024, caused thousands of dollars in property damage as the rioters broke into Hamilton Hall, an academic building on the Columbia campus, by smashing windows and barricading entrances with furniture, padlocks, and metal chains. Inside, they reportedly vandalized property, including covering security cameras (likely with paint or tape) and damaging furnishings. Jewish students on campus were terrified to attend class and faced harassment, intimidation, and sometimes physical confrontation. They were forced to listen as the mob shouted things like “Zionists don’t deserve to live,” or “Oct. 7 is about to be every day for you guys,” Columbia’s August 2024 antisemitism task force report substantiated claims of Jews being “pinned against walls” or excluded from areas due to their perceived Zionism.

It is utterly intolerable for a guest in our nation to be permitted to spread hatred and violence, to stand in solidarity with terrorists while blatantly flouting our laws — especially on our streets and in our schools.

Learn more about the author, who was a devout Muslim and had a career in national security, including as a political officer in the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan and a senior advisor to FBI Headquarters, in her new book:  Living Fearless in Christ: Why I Left Islam to Win Battles for the Kingdom.