Mayor Adams, asked Monday for his views on the the politically explosive issue of former Columbia grad student Mahmoud Khalil being detained by federal immigration authorities for his pro-Palestinian activism, offered a perplexing response:
“If he has a gun, he needs to go,” Adams said at the news conference, which was called to tout the number of weapons taken off the streets in 2025.
A reporter asked for clarification. Was Adams suggesting Khalil might have had a weapon? There has been no evidence or information coming out of ICE or the Trump administration indicating anything of the sort.
The mayor didn’t respond, laughing in response to one follow-up, though spokesperson Liz Garcia later said the mayor was not trying to suggest Khalil had a gun, nor does he have any information to that effect.
Garcia said it was possible Adams had not clearly heard the reporter’s question and that he wasn’t talking specifically about Khalil.
“He wasn’t actually speaking to the situation, he was making an off-the-cuff comment about a question that he had heard,” Garcia said, adding that Adams “made the question about guns” to align with the topic of the press conference.
Since Khalil’s case is a federal civil enforcement matter, the city has not received much information about the case, she said.
Khalil, a green card holder, was arrested by federal immigration agents for his involvement in pro-Palestinian protests and is now being detained in Louisiana. He’s believed to be the first person singled out by the Trump administration in its promise to deport international students who protested against Israel’s actions in Gaza.
His arrest has set off intense outrage, with protesters gathering outside the ICE New York City Field Office on Monday afternoon to demand his release from custody.
