Dozens of University of Chicago students and faculty members rallied on Tuesday in support of a former Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested by federal immigration authorities over the weekend in New York.

President Donald Trump has said the arrest of a Columbia University graduate for taking part in pro-Palestinian protests was “the first of many to come”, stoking fears of a clampdown on free speech and campus-based activism across the country.

A federal judge has halted the deportation of a Columbia University graduate student who was detained by immigration authorities for his participation in campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war. Judge Jesse Furman of the Southern District of New York issued the order Monday as the government sought to deport Mahmoud Khalil after arresting him outside his apartment over the weekend.