On March 8th, 2025 in the middle of the night, a Columbia University grad student and activist, Mahmoud Khalil, was arrested by two plainclothes Department of Homeland Security officers from his apartment in NYC. The US government revoked his visa, his green-card, and shipped him out-of-state to Louisiana, a state whose ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) detention centers are infamous for disappearing immigrants.
To be clear, what happened to Mahmoud is a political disappearance. The White House has since confirmed that Mahmoud committed no crime and is being targeted for his political views. Columbia University, at the behest of the US government, facilitated Mahmoud’s arrest (and now a 2nd student, Ranjani Srinivasan). A Columbia dean has warned foreign students that “no one can protect you.” These are shocking scenes to many Americans (for good reason) but something all too familiar in other parts of the world.
“Disappearing” someone – that is, taking someone away without telling their friends or family what happened to them or where they are – is a hallmark technique of authoritarian regimes around the world. It was first pioneered in Indonesia in 1965 during an extremely violent purge of Communists from society, and has been repeated constantly throughout the rest of the Global South. Since then, activists everywhere are at risk of “enforced disappearances” because of their political views. This Amnesty International report about disappearances in South Asian countries document thousands of cases in recent years, and similar stories can be found on every continent wherever there are journalists, activists, and organizers challenging the system. This is often done under the guise of anti-Communism, anti-Terrorism, or national security (we’re seeing similar reasoning for Mahmoud’s case) and it’s a terrifyingly effective technique. Family members often don’t know if their loved one is alive or dead, and are afraid to speak out in case their advocacy causes the latter. Even if a disappearance doesn’t result in death, the emotional, social, and financial trauma is enough to keep many quiet.
The bigger picture
