Month: March 2025

Mahmoud , an activist who led pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, will remain in an ICE detention facility in Louisiana after his first court hearing on Wednesday.  Khalili is fighting potential deportation by the Trump administration after federal authorities took him into custody Saturday at his campus apartment, and sent him to a detention center in Jena, La. His deportation was temporarily stopped Monday by a federal judge ahead of Wednesday’s hearing.

DOJ attorney Brandon Waterman told a court that Khalil, 30, is not in immediate danger of deportation while the immigration proceedings take place.  Khalil’s attorneys said they have been unable to have privileged communications with him since he was taken into custody, however, Judge Jesse Furman said he would grant a request by Khalil’s lawyers allowing them to have privileged phone calls with Khalil on Wednesday and Thursday to prepare for future court appearances after his lawyers expressed dissatisfaction over access to their client.

Khalil has been accused of making supportive statements for Hamas, but has not been publicly accused of providing material backing to the Iran-backed terror syndicate. His attorneys say he’s being punished for exercising his protected speech, and filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus that alleges his arrest and ICE detention, based on Khalil’s perceived free speech and activism, violates the Due Process Clause and the First Amendment.

Khalil, a Palestinian refugee raised in Syria, is married to an American citizen who is eight months pregnant, and is a green card and student visa holder. n December, he graduated with a masters degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He was the lead student negotiator of an encampment at the Manhattan campus in 2024 when Columbia was the center of nationwide student protests held against Israel’s war in Gaza, which ultimately lead to the resignation of Columbia president Nemat “Minouche” Shafik after months of protests that disrupted campus.

Ramzi Kassem, an attorney for Khalil, said: “he was taken by U.S. government agents in retaliation, essentially, for exercising his First Amendment rights, for speaking up in defense of Palestinians in Gaza and beyond, for being critical of the US government and of the Israeli government.”

The Trump administration announced last week that it was revoking $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University, alleging it failed to fight anti-Semitism on its campus. Later in a social media post, President Trump said that Khalil’s arrest was the “first arrest of many to come” and that his administration will “find, apprehend, and deport” those considered “terrorist sympathizers.”

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On Wednesday, Canada announced $21 billion in new retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, in response to President Donald Trump’s new 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Trump’s 25% tariff increase on all steel and aluminum imports officially took effect on Wednesday, the latest move in the administration’s plans to reshape global trade norms in favor of U.S. manufacturing. (Canada is the biggest foreign supplier of steel and aluminum to the U.S.).

Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said: “Today, I am announcing that the government of Canada, following a dollar-for-dollar approach, will be imposing, as of 12:01 a.m. tomorrow, March 13, 2025, 25% reciprocal tariffs on an additional $29.8 billion of imports from the United States. This includes steel products worth $12.6 billion and aluminum products worth $3 billion as well as additional imported U.S. goods worth $14.2 billion. The list of additional products affected by counter-tariffs includes computers, sports equipment, and cast iron products as examples. We will not stand idly by while our iconic steel and aluminum industries are being unfairly targeted/”

The latest action from Trump also prompted retaliation from the European Commission, which announced shortly after Trump’s tariffs took effect that it would impose counter tariffs on the equivalent of $28 billion worth of U.S. goods –, including beef, motorcycles and whiskey alongside American-made steel and aluminum — starting next month.  The Commission said in a statement: “we regret the unjustified US 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports. The EU will protect its consumers and businesses. We are launching swift, proportionate countermeasures worth up to ($28 billion), matching the economic impact of the US tariffs.”

The countries most affected by the tariffs are Canada, Brazil; Mexico; and South Korea, which all have enjoyed some level of exemptions or quotas. Most U.S.-Canada trade remains duty-free under the USMCA trade deal that Trump signed in 2020.

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