Rubio’s letter notified DHS that he had revoked both targets’ visas, setting in motion plans for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to arrest and attempt to deport them, according to a senior DHS official and another U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe how the operation against Khalil took shape.

The Trump administration moved this week to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia University graduate of Palestinian heritage who once led campus protests against Israel's war in Gaza. Critics say Khalil's arrest is a threat to the First Amendment and to the rights of Americans everywhere.

Mahmoud Khalil is a green card holder who played a role in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University and is now facing deportation by the Trump Administration. NBC News' Tom Llamas spoke to one of his attorneys,