A rush hour rally drew dozens of people in Hartford Wednesday evening in support of the pro-Palestinian activist who is being threatened with deportation by the Trump administration. Mahmoud Khalil helped lead protests at Columbia University last year over the Israel-Hamas war.

Administration officials cited a rarely used provision that allows people’s removal if they present “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”

The White House complained that Columbia University is refusing to help federal agents find people being sought as part of the government’s effort to deport participants in pro-Palestinian demonstrati

Columbia University has not helped the Department of Homeland Security identify individuals the government claims engaged in "pro-Hamas activity," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a Tuesday press briefing.

Hundreds of demonstrators marched downtown while a spokeswoman for President Trump said the president had the authority to detain Mahmoud Khalil.