Mahmoud Khalil returns to Columbia University campus, says his fight for Palestinians is just beginning
Pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil returned to Columbia University on Sunday, a day after he was released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention.
Khalil, who last year became one of the faces of immigration and pro-Palestinian demonstrations after ICE agents arrested him from campus housing, held a news conference on the steps of the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine near the Columbia University campus on Sunday. He thanked the people in the crowd for their support and condemned the university for attempting to punish students who speak up about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
"Well, well, here I am. Here I am with you," Khalil said. "I'm grateful to be standing freely next to you all. I'm grateful to my wife, Noor, whose support, love and tears have kept me upright. I'm grateful to every single person who stood by me during this time.
"I would like to salute the courage of all the students at Columbia and across the nation," he added. "These students who continue to protest, I want to honor my friends, especially at Columbia University, especially those who are currently battling expulsion and suspension."
The former Columbia graduate student returned home from an immigration center in Louisiana on Saturday, spent 104 days at an ICE detention center, missing his graduation and the birth of his son
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz ruled Khalil, who's a U.S. permanent resident, does not need to be detained while the deportation proceedings play out and is neither a threat to his community nor a flight risk, adding he would not order electronic monitoring, either.
Farbiarz called Khalil's detention "highly unusual" and the federal government's actions "an effort to use the immigration charge to punish the petitioner" for his anti-Israel speech.
The White House has said it will appeal Khalil's release.
Khalil speaks against Columbia Board of Trustees
At the news conference Sunday, Khalil called the Board of Trustees at Columbia "shameful" for attempting to expel 15 more students and suspend others who spoke out against the war in Gaza.
In March, Columbia University said it expelled or suspended some students who took over a campus building during pro-Palestinian protests last spring, and had temporarily revoked the diplomas of some students who have since graduated.
"Basically, they are stealing their futures, their degrees, their labor, merely because these students are not afraid. These students are not afraid to stand for Palestine," Khalil said. "Columbia University will do everything and anything it can to ensure that the words 'Free Palestine' are not uttered anywhere near it. But why are we here? 'Free, free Palestine!'"
He then led the crowd in a series of chants for Palestine, and, after a brief pause, said, "I hope that Columbia University heard your chants. In fact, even today, Columbia University refused to allow this press conference and rally to be held at the gates. Just so that we cannot remind them that they fund the killing in Gaza."
Khalil then spoke for several minutes about how he sees himself and his cause.
"Who is Mahmoud Khalil? That's what the administration has tried its best to portray me as someone who is violent," Khalil said. "Mahmoud Khalil is a human rights defender. Mahmoud Khalil is a freedom fighter. Mahmoud Khalil is a refugee. Mahmoud Khalil is a father and husband. And above all, Mahmoud Khalil is Palestinian. Mahmoud Khalil is a Palestinian who refused to stay silent while watching a genocide in Palestine, a genocide that's of course committed by the genocidal state of Israel that is funded by the U.S. government that's invested by Columbia University."
"While I'm grateful to be here with you all, I must say that this is only the beginning of a longer fight towards justice," Khalil added. "My being here today is sweet, but it is not a victory, not when Palestinians are still being killed."
Why Mahmoud Khalil was detained by ICE
The Trump administration has been seeking Khalil's deportation for his role in Columbia campus protests against Israel. He has not been charged with any crimes, but the administration says he should leave the country due to activities it deems are aligned with Hamas.
Attorneys for Khalil call the accusations baseless.
"The opposite is true. The greatest threat anyone can pose to our democracy would be to stay silent in the face of justice," Alina Das said.
The video of Khalil's arrest, taken by his wife, Noor Abdalla, who was eight months pregnant at the time, showed ICE agents putting him in handcuffs.
"You're watching the most terrifying moment of my life. This felt like a kidnapping because it was: Officers in plainclothes -- who refused to show us a warrant, speak with our attorney, or even tell us their names -- forced my husband into an unmarked car and took him away from me," Abdalla said.
"One day, our son will know that his father did, not bow to fear. He will know his father stood up when it was hardest and the world stood up for him," Abdalla added.
