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Trump to review visa status of protesters arrested in Columbia University library takeover

Cayla Bamberger and Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News on

Published in News & Features

NEW YORK — Trump officials vowed to review the visa statuses of 80 pro-Palestinian protesters taken into custody during a takeover of a Columbia University library.

“We are reviewing the visa status of the trespassers and vandals who took over Columbia University’s library,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X hours after the brief occupation. “Pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation.”

Assistant Secretary of Department of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin added Thursday the threat could extend to permanent residents.

“If you are in this country on a visa, green card or otherwise, you are a guest,” she wrote on X. “Act like it. If you are pushing Hamas propaganda, glorifying terrorists that relish the killing of Americans, harassing Jews, taking over buildings, or other anti-American actions that we have seen lately on these campuses, you can book yourself a ticket home. You can expect your visa will be revoked.”

Acting Columbia University President Claire Shipman authorized the NYPD to enter campus a few hours after the swarm of masked protesters showed up at Butler Library and forced their way inside Wednesday.

Cops were seen escorting out dozens of protesters in zip ties who school officials said were trespassing.

Columbia is actively negotiating with the Trump administration to restore $400 million in federal funding that was canceled over claims the school did not do enough to protect Jewish students from harassment during the protests.

Whether the library protest will hamper those negotiations remains to be seen. But on Thursday, an interagency federal body involved in the talks, the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, praised Shipman’s response.

“The Task Force is encouraged by Acting President Shipman’s strong and resolute statement regarding the unlawful, violent and disgraceful takeover of Butler Library yesterday. She has stepped in to lead Columbia at a critical juncture and has met the moment with fortitude and conviction,” read a statement, which called on Columbia to take disciplinary action.

Of the 80 protesters arrested, two were given summonses for disorderly conduct while the rest were given desk appearance tickets to appear in court at a later date on trespass charges, NYPD officials said.

Shipman attributed the decision to allow NYPD officers on campus to the large number of protesters creating a safety hazard. Two Columbia security officers were injured as protesters forced their way inside the building, with one wheeled out on a gurney.

 

The college president accused the protesters of putting international students in danger: “I am deeply disturbed at the idea that, at a moment when our international community feels particularly vulnerable, a small group of students would choose to make our institution a target,” Shipman said in a video released overnight.

“Let me be clear: Columbia unequivocally rejects antisemitism and all other forms of harassment and discrimination. And we certainly reject a group of students — and we don’t yet know whether there were outsiders involved — closing down a library in the middle of the week before finals and forcing 900 students out of their study spaces, many leaving belongings behind.”

Footage on social media showed the activists, who wore masks, pushing through security at the entrance of Butler shortly after 3 p.m., steps away from where students pitched a tent demonstration last year. Meanwhile, large demonstrations broke out on campus and along its perimeter Thursday.

Protesters called to free Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia graduate and green card holder who has been detained by federal immigration authorities. DHS detained another lawful permanent resident, Mohsen Mahdawi, before a federal judge ordered his release. Other Columbia students targeted by the Trump administration have gone into hiding or decided to leave the country.

Columbia has one of the largest international student bodies in the country, with 13,745 people coming from around the globe to study in New York. It was not immediately clear how many of the protesters on Wednesday were international students.

Butler Library reopened by Thursday morning with the room of the protest “restored and ready for use,” school officials said. Columbia finals begin Friday.

The main protest group on campus, Columbia University Apartheid Divest, on Wednesday reveled in their ability to pull off the disruption despite a crackdown on student activists. Last month, an effort to repitch a tent encampment was averted after NBC News publicized their plans.

“Students outsmarted the university, exposing the cracks in their broken system,” the group said in a statement.

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©2025 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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