Columbia student forced into exile over Palestine activism – Mondoweiss

A Columbia University graduate student was forced into political exile as a result of his Palestine activism on campus.

Raiyan, who is using a pseudonym and concealing his current location to avoid further persecution, was set to become a naturalized U.S. citizen in September 2025. However, while he was on a backpacking trip in a foreign country, Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by ICE and sent to a detention facility in Louisiana.

Raiyan’s lawyers advised him not…