A Columbia University alumni, who is seeking to deport his role in the pro-Palestinian protests, is the first time since his arrest.
Columbia University alumni Mahmoud Khalil, who has been trying to deport Palestinian parents from his role in the demonstrations last year, called himself a “political prisoner” in his first direct comment since his arrest.
The student activist was arrested by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on March 8 after he and his pregnant wife, Noor Abdallah (a US citizen), returned from dinner in New York.
In a letter released Tuesday, Halil condemned the arrest and the circumstances facing detainees in US immigration facilities.
“My name is Mahmoud Khalil and I am a political prisoner. I am writing to you from a detention facility in Louisiana, where I have been a long time witnessing the ongoing quiet injustice witnesses against so many people who have been awakened on a cold morning and removed from the protection of the law,” writes Khalil. He added, “The agent threatened to arrest her (Nour) by not leaving my side.”
He was taken into custody without a warrant, and DHS agents withheld details about his arrest, according to footage of the arrest released by his family last Friday.
In his letter, Halil wrote:
His lawyer, Amy Greer, said Halil is a legal permanent resident. Experts emphasize that green cardholders are rarely threatened by deportation, except in cases of serious crimes.
In April 2024, students across the United States mobilized to demand university accomplices in the Israeli war with Gaza following an attack led by the Palestinian group Hamas in southern Israel in October 2023.
Since then, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, the Air and Sea Military Campaign, Israel’s merciless ground, has since killed nearly 50,000 Palestinians and more than 110,000 Palestinians. Thousands of more are missing under the tiled bleed of the destroyed building and are estimated to have died. The UN Committee found that Israel’s war on the territory besieged last November was consistent with the characteristics of genocide, accusing them of “using hunger as a way of war.”
Trump’s intense reaction
As anti-war protests grew nationwide, demonstrations at Columbia University in New York attracted particularly media attention due to their size.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has accused Halil, who played a key role in the pro-Palestinian demonstrations at universities, of engaging in “activities alongside Hamas,” but no evidence has been provided.
Trump accused student protesters of participating in “professional terrorist, anti-Semitism and anti-American activities” without providing evidence to support the claim.
Halil said his arrest was a direct result of his activism against free Palestine and the end of Israeli attacks on Gaza.
“My arrest was a direct result of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated the end of the free Palestine and Gaza genocide.
Halil also elicited similarities between his situation and the use of administrative detention by Israel.
“For Palestinians, imprisonment without justified procedures is common.”
He added that “it is our moral duty to stick to the struggle for their full freedom,” and said he refused to be forced to be silenced.
“Nevertheless, we hope to be free to witness the birth of our first child.”
