Mahmoud Khalil was detained by Ice despite having a green card and his lawyers do not know where he’s being held

• US politics live – latest updates

A spokesperson for the US’s homeland security department – as well as the country’s top diplomat – have confirmed the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia University until this past December who helped lead protests at the school against Israel over the war in Gaza.

Homeland security department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed the arrest of Khalil – who holds permanent US residency – in a statement on Sunday to Associated Press, saying it was made to support Donald Trump’s presidential orders “prohibiting antisemitism”.