U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) detainment and arrest of Columbia University graduate and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil at his university-owned apartment in New York on March 8 sent shockwaves throughout the nation.
The legal justification for the arrest of Khalil, a permanent legal resident who is not officially charged with a crime, has been heavily criticized, though President Donald Trump has doubled down, threatening to cut all federal funding to universities “that allow illegal protests” and promising further expulsions of participating students.
It’s a consequential step in the Trump administration’s push to have “every one of America’s colleges and universities” execute its ideological agenda in immigration and education, and one that has sparked fear among international students for their future.
ICE can’t enter non-public spaces on campus, UW-Madison says
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has claimed Khalil’s deportation is lawful under section 237(a)(4)(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which grants the secretary the authority to deport individuals whose presence “would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
Hundreds of University of Wisconsin-Madison students participated in pro-Palestine demonstrations over the past year, including a 12-day encampment in May and a walkout for Khalil on March 11.
UW-Madison spokesperson John Lucas told The Daily Cardinal a search warrant would be required for federal agents seeking to enter non-public areas, which include private offices and laboratories, residential rooms, classrooms and lecture halls in use and other secured or restricted-access areas.
When asked if UW-Madison would expel students taking place in a protest, Lucas referred to the university’s expressive activity policy, which outlines activities not covered by the First Amendment including interfering with university property, interfering with invited speakers or disrupting the teaching of classes and functioning of the university.
Lucas said infractions could lead to consequences through campus conduct processes or law enforcement.
ICE’s arrest of Mahmoud has sent another chilling effect to universities, already on the brink of losing billions of dollars in federal research funding.
Part of that effect brewed before Trump’s second term. Many universities, including UW-Madison, updated their protest policies before the start of the fall semester with increased restrictions on speech following pro-Palestine protests last spring, including a mandate that UW-Madison leaders maintain neutral viewpoints in matters that do not affect the university's operations and mission.
Lucas referred to that policy when he told the Cardinal UW-Madison does not have a position on the situation at Columbia University.
‘Legal and constitutional hardball’
International students comprise a significant part of UW-Madison’s research and academic enterprise. They make up 15% of UW-Madison’s student body and have contributed approximately $44 billion to the U.S. economy during the 2023-24 academic year, according to NAFSA data.
Cornell University international graduate student Momodou Taal, along with another doctoral student and professor, sued the Trump administration Sunday arguing its executive orders suppress protected speech that may be “critical of U.S. foreign policy and supportive of Palestinian human rights.”
During the walkout on March 11, attendees warned of the implications of Khalil’s arrest on student protesters and demanded respect for freedom of speech and protest.
“This is a bellwether for what is acceptable in this country. Do we live in a country where it is acceptable to kidnap a man in the middle of the night because he protested in support of Palestine or not? Because I think that if we live in the former, which we do apparently, then we do not have rights in this country,” protester Dahlia Saba told the Cardinal during the walkout.
UW-Madison political science professor emeritus Howard Schweber told the Cardinal the Trump administration's actions constitute a “war on higher education,” with Trump’s targeting of international students the “point of the spear.”
Schweber said Trump’s novel actions are raising broad questions that will have to be answered by the judiciary.
“The Trump administration is pushing the bounds of these definitions as far as they will go,” Schweber said, calling Trump’s strategy “legal and constitutional hardball.”
On Friday, the Trump administration canceled $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University after a Department of Education investigation found “widespread antisemitic harassment has been reported.”
The Department of Education has been investigating 60 universities, including UW-Madison, over antisemitic discrimination and harassment since January 29, 2024.
In a statement on March 11, 2025 after the Department of Education sent out letters to schools, UW-Madison condemned antisemitism and reaffirmed their commitment to promoting “a welcome campus environment for all members of the campus community.”
Lucas declined to comment when asked whether the university was worried that similar cuts from the Trump administration — in addition to pending caps in NIH funding — could occur at UW-Madison if DOE’s investigation yields similar findings to Columbia University’s.
