Joseph Howley Stands With Pro-Hamas Students Detained by ICE — And That Should Alarm Everyone

On May 6, 2025, Columbia professor Joseph Howley stood in the rain during a silent vigil, holding signs honoring Mahmoud Khalil, Rümeysa Öztürk, and Badar Khan Suri — students detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for immigration violations and public support for terrorist organizations, including Hamas.

This wasn’t a humanitarian protest. It was a celebration of extremism.

All three students had openly aligned themselves with Hamas sympathizers, using their platforms on campus to praise terror attacks and spread violent propaganda. Mahmoud Khalil, in particular, played a lead role in organizing Columbia’s spring 2024 encampment, which glorified the October 7 attacks as “resistance” and shut down campus life with intimidation, vandalism, and antisemitic messaging.

Instead of distancing himself from this behavior, Howley chose to stand in solidarity with them, signaling once again that he sees no red line when it comes to political violence — so long as it fits his narrative.

This is not about immigration. This is about a professor at one of America’s top universities endorsing law-breaking and terrorist sympathizing students, all while presenting himself as a protector of civil liberties.

But let’s be clear: these students were not detained for peaceful protest. They were detained because they crossed into territory that supports and enables terrorism — and Joseph Howley stood proudly by them.

What message does this send to Columbia’s Jewish students? Or to any student who values rule of law, truth, and basic decency?

Joseph Howley isn’t defending justice. He’s defending radicalization.
And in doing so, he’s proving that his place is no longer in the classroom — but in the fringe margins of extremist activism.