'Never imagined detention in US': Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil pleads for release; says arrest caused 'irreparable harm' to family, career

Time of India

a day ago

Mahmoud Khalil (File photo)
Columbia University alumnus, currently facing deportation due to his pro-Palestinian activism, has detailed the significant "irreparable harm" due to his ongoing detention to his personal and professional life, while a federal judge considers his release.
In court documents made public on Thursday, Mahmoud Khalil described how the 'most immediate and visceral harms' due to his detention in Louisiana was him missing the birth of his firstborn in April, reported the Associated Press. "Instead of holding my wife's hand in the delivery room, I was crouched on a detention centre floor, whispering through a crackling phone line as she laboured alone," the 30-year-old legal US resident wrote.
"When I heard my son's first cries, I buried my face in my arms so no one would see me weep."
The detention has severely affected his professional prospects, with Oxfam International withdrawing their employment offer for a policy adviser position.
Additionally, his mother's visa application to assist with his newborn's care is currently under federal scrutiny. "As someone who fled prosecution in Syria for my political beliefs, for who I am, I never imagined myself to be in immigration detention, here in the United States," he wrote. "Why should protesting this Israel government's indiscriminate killing of thousands of
innocent
Palestinians result in the erosion of my constitutional rights?"
The Department of Homeland Security's spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, suggested Khalil utilise the CBP Home app for voluntary deportation, offering $1,000 and complimentary travel.
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Despite Khalil's green card status, the Trump administration is proceeding with its revocation. His lawyers submitted a 13-page statement alongside various legal declarations highlighting the extensive consequences of his arrest.
His wife, Dr Noor Abdalla, a US citizen, described managing childbirth and early parenthood without her husband's support.
Columbia's academic community expressed concerns about the dampening effect on campus activism, noting increased hesitancy to participate in protests or groups critical of the Trump administration.
Recently, New Jersey Federal Judge Michael Farbiarz indicated that the administration's deportation effort likely contravenes the Constitution. Farbiarz noted that using potential threats to US foreign policy as justification for removal could enable arbitrary enforcement.
Khalil's arrest occurred on March 8 in his university accommodation's lobby, marking the first detention under Trump's expanded measures against students involved in Gaza war protests.