In his first public statement since his arrest on March 8, Mahmoud Khalil said he is a Palestinian political prisoner as the Donald Trump administration cracked down on Ivy League institutes vowing deportation of ‘illegal immigrants’. Khalil is not an illegal immigrant but the administration said his green card which he obtained as he married an American would be revoked.
Khalil’s statement was dictated over the phone from his Louisiana detention center. “Before I knew what was happening, agents handcuffed and forced me into an unmarked car. At that moment, my only concern was for Noor’s safety. I had no idea if she would be taken too, since the agents had threatened to arrest her for not leaving my side. DHS would not tell me anything for hours — I did not know the cause of my arrest or if I was facing immediate deportation,” Khalil said giving an account of how his arrest unfolded.
“My arrest was a direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza, which resumed in full force Monday night. With January’s ceasefire now broken, parents in Gaza are once again cradling too-small shrouds, and families are forced to weigh starvation and displacement against bombs. It is our moral imperative to persist in the struggle for their complete freedom,” he said.
‘Being Palestinian is an experience that transcends borders’
Describing his childhood at a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, Khalil said his circumstances have similarities to Israel’s use of administration detention — imprisonment without trial or charge.
Blaming his university, Khalil said Columbia targeted him for his activism. “Columbia surrendered to federal pressure by disclosing student records to Congress and yielding to the Trump administration’s latest threats,” he said.
“The Trump administration is targeting me as part of a broader strategy to suppress dissent. Visa-holders, green-card carriers, and citizens alike will all be targeted for their political beliefs. In the weeks ahead, students, advocates, and elected officials must unite to defend the right to protest for Palestine. At stake are not just our voices, but the fundamental civil liberties of all,” he said.
“Knowing fully that this moment transcends my individual circumstances, I hope nonetheless to be free to witness the birth of my first-born child,” he added.