HLS Admin Removes, Condemns Stickers Threatening Deportation of Pro-Palestine Student Activists

Updated March 29, 2025, at 1:00 a.m.

Harvard Law School officials took down two stickers that threatened pro-Palestine activists with deportation from a pole in the school’s main plaza, condemning them in a Thursday email to the full student body.

The first sticker, observed by students on Tuesday, read “Don’t be Mahmood Khalil,” referring to Mahmoud Khalil, the former Columbia University graduate student detained by ICE just over two weeks ago. Khalil, a green card holder, was arrested after serving as a negotiator on behalf of participants in Columbia’s pro-Palestine encampment.

The sticker also read, “Be a racist if you want, Just keep it to yourself #JFB (Jews fight back).”

The far-right Zionist group Betar US, which has been labeled an extremist group by the Anti-Defamation League, claimed responsibility for the stickers on Friday and condemned HLS’ decision to remove them.

The Trump administration has repeatedly alleged that Khalil supports Hamas and, in a March 10 post on his proprietary social media platform Truth Social, President Donald Trump said Khalil’s detention was “the first arrest of many to come” of pro-Palestine student activists. Many in higher education have rallied around Khalil’s case, alleging the arrest was retribution for his political views.

In a Tuesday Instagram post, unrecognized student group Dissent Collective posted a picture of the sticker, labeled “spotted at the law school.” In the picture, the phrase “Free Palestine” had been etched onto the sticker, though the group did not comment on whether they were responsible.

By the next morning, a second sticker was layered on top. “I am a green card holder who loves America. I will never be deported. Are You?” the new sticker read.

Just three hours later, the second sticker was removed from the pole, revealing the original — though the words on the first sticker were fully scratched out. By Thursday evening, all traces of both stickers were fully removed.

In their Thursday email to students, Law School administrators said the stickers “were posted in violation of campus policies” and were “removed in accordance with our standard procedures.” They added that “initial indications” suggested that the stickers were not posted by a Law School affiliate.

They added that the stickers “appear to be aimed at causing distress and fear among members of our community, many of whom are already feeling deeply vulnerable.”

“While we remain steadfast in our commitment to free expression, we condemn this and other acts that aim to intimidate and sow discord,” administrators wrote.

The sticker removals align with the school’s policy on signage, which only allows pre-approved groups to post signs in designated areas.

The email from administrators added that they would not regularly notify HLS affiliates when “unauthorized materials of this nature” are discovered and removed.

A Betar US spokesperson wrote in a Thursday statement that the group has reported “thousands of names to the Trump administration” of pro-Palestine protesters on student visas. They added that the group is “present and active at Harvard.”

“Great stickers, no?” a spokesperson for the group wrote. “We will continue to take action against jihadis at Harvard and worldwide.”

Allie Ryave, a third-year law student, said she knew of at least twenty students who emailed the administration demanding that the stickers be taken down. Ryave is the former co-president of HLS Tzedek, a progressive, pro-Palestine Jewish affinity group at the Law School.

Ryave said she believed the administration should have taken a stronger stance against the stickers in their email, describing the email as “talking in circles to avoid saying the words ‘Palestine’ or ‘immigrant.’”

HLS spokesperson Jeff Neal declined to comment on the criticism.

Several students told The Crimson they felt distressed after seeing the posted messages.

Moses Glickman, a first-year law student, said “it is fortunate that it sounds like it was from an outside organization.”

“Just being here is just sufficient for anyone to realize that everyone here on a green card is core to our community,” he added.

—Staff writer Caroline G. Hennigan can be reached at caroline.hennigan@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @cghennigan.

—Staff writer Bradford D. Kimball can be reached at bradford.kimball@thecrimson.com.