Professors reached by Gothamist Friday questioned why the school — a flashpoint in the debate over deportations, after high-profile cases in which foreign students who’d protested Israel’s campaign in Gaza found their legal status revoked — say the school should have fought back against removals they argue were always on shaky legal ground.

The Trump administration has admitted in court that it did not have a warrant when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil.

The Trump administration said in court filings that it detained Mahmoud Khalil without an arrest warrant, fearing he would be a “flight risk.” Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student and pro-Palestinian activist,