Mahmoud Khalil, who was recently released from immigration custody, explained the conditions for his detention on Sunday, denounced the “hypocrisy” at Columbia University, a graduate student.
“Who is Mahmoud Khalil?” he asked when he spoke to the media and supporters about the steps of St. John’s Cathedral in New York City, just a few blocks from Columbia.
“Mahmoud Khalil is a human rights advocate. Mahmoud Khalil is a freedom fighter. Mahmoud Khalil is a refugee. Mahmoud Khalil is a father and husband. And above all, Mahmoud Khalil is a Palestinian.”
Khalil returned to the New York area on Saturday after spending 104 days at an immigration and customs facility in Louisiana. He said Columbia University denied his request to hold a press conference.
Surrounded by his wife, his legal team and supporters, Halil said that no one has privacy in the detention center and that it is common to hear emotional stories from other men.
“It’s often hard to find patience in ice detention. The centre is crowded with hundreds of people whose presence is said to be illegal, and we don’t know when we will be free,” he said.
Hundreds of supporters took part in the chant with Halil on the steps of the cathedral.
“I literally hooked this on a bunk bed and found myself watching it when I fell asleep and woke up. I know I’ve repeated and still managed to win in a small way today by being free,” he said.
The case of U.S. legal resident Halil attracted public attention as the Trump administration began targeting Palestinian student protesters after a fatal terrorist attack in Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israeli tally shows that the attack killed 1,200 people in Israel and hundreds more were taken hostage. And according to the Ministry of Health of Enclave, run by Hamas, it sparked a war in Gaza where more than 55,000 people, many of them, killed women and children. The World Health Organization believes the numbers are reliable.
Halil was one of the Colombian student leaders who were crucial to the campus’ protests against the war.
“I have to call Columbia University hypocrisy, who just two weeks ago, who wanted to protect international students. Why? On 100 (Sun), I haven’t received one call from this university,” he said.
Columbia University did not immediately respond to a call on Sunday night asking for comment on Halil’s remarks.
Halil’s detention caused him to miss the birth of his son.
“You may have taken time from us, but you were not taking our spirit,” his wife, Noor Abdallah, said on Sunday.
“One day, our son would know that his father did not bow to fear,” she added.
On Friday, a federal judge released Halil and said he was not a threat to foreign policy or flight risk, as the Trump administration argued.
Within ten minutes, the White House appealed the decision.
“I am grateful to be here with you all, but I have to say that this is just the beginning of a longer battle for justice. I want everyone to understand that my presence today is sweet, but that’s not a victory,” Halil said on Sunday.
“The wave of crackdown that the Trump administration launched in my detention was intended to silence the movement for the liberation of Palestine. It was intended to scare people into silence,” he said.
The government is suing an order granting Khalil’s release and an earlier ruling that pre-banned him from detention and deportation. Halil said on Sunday that his legal team is ready to continue fighting.
From NBC News, his message was asked by students who may be afraid to protest based on what happened to him, saying, “Students across the country have always been led to the right thing. They are our moral compass.”
“This happened during the Vietnam War, during South Africa’s apartheid, which is why the regime is doing everything with its power to suppress us.
After the press conference, he joined hundreds of supporters in a short March escort by New York police.
