White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
She said she considered bringing them to the briefing but decided against it because she "didn't think it was worth the dignity of this room to bring that pro-Hamas propaganda."
"This administration is not going to tolerate individuals having the privilege of studying in our country and then siding with pro-terrorist organizations that have killed Americans," Leavitt said. "We have a zero-tolerance policy for siding with terrorists. Period."
A senior State Department official told Fox News that Rubio found Khalil's "presence and activities in the U.S. would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States and would compromise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest, rendering him deportable under Section 237 (a)(4)(C) of the INA [Immigration & Nationality Act]."
The official said Section 237 of the Immigration and Nationality Act broadly contains grounds for which an alien who is in the U.S. after having been admitted or having had his or her status adjusted to that of lawful permanent resident may be removed.
Student negotiator Mahmoud Khalil is on the Columbia University campus in New York at an anti-Israel protest encampment on April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, file)
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, led by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the second-highest ranking Democrat in the chamber, called Khalil’s detention "straight-up authoritarianism."
Hundreds of protesters demonstrated in New York City on Monday night demanding Khalil's release and calling for a nationwide walkout of classes is set for noon Tuesday to protest what they deem "genocide" against the Palestinian people and the Trump administration's plan to cut federal funding to colleges that permit "illegal" protests.
That student walkout failed to materialize as of early Tuesday afternoon, but a small group of protesters were seen on the steps of Columbia's campus chanting in favor of Khalil's release.
The U.S. Department of Education, meanwhile, sent letters to 60 colleges and universities on Monday saying they were under investigation for alleged "antisemitic discrimination" and could lose funding.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The Trump administration recently canceled $400 million in grant funding for Columbia. "Cutting funding to @Columbia’s cancer research doesn’t fight antisemitism, but it does advance Trump’s fight to control higher education in the United States," House Judiciary Democrat Rep. Jerry Nadler, of New York, wrote on X.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on X: @danimwallace.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-rubio-reserves-right-revoke-green-card-visa-anti-israel-activist-mahmoud-khalil