Mahmoud Khalil sparks outrage days after being released from ICE detention amid calls for him to be deported
The Columbia University student, who was swept up in an ICE arrest on March 8 and threatened with deportation, vowed not to be silenced by the Trump administration, even as they continue to seek a legal avenue to expel him from the United States.
Khalil arrived back in New York on Saturday, hours after a federal judge ruled his detention was unconstitutional and demanded he be freed to return home to his wife and newborn baby, who was born while he was incarcerated.
The 30-year-old Palestinian, who was born in a Syrian refugee camp, wore a shirt which read 'Lift the siege on Gaza ' as he celebrated his temporary victory.
He clutched his wife Noor Abdalla's hand and threw his arms up in victory as the crowd cheered, thanking his supporters, legal team and protestors who had the 'courage' to continue to protest in the face of ICE deportations.
Khalil told the crowd Columbia 'would do anything and everything it can to ensure that the words ''free Palestine'' are not uttered anywhere near it. But while we are here, Free, Free Palestine.'
He said that while the administration had tried to paint him as 'violent', he argued he is simply 'a Palestinian who refused to stay silent while watching a genocide.'
He went on to say 'genocide... is being funded by the US government.'
His comments have sparked mass backlash from pro-MAGA loyalists on social media, who questioned why he opted to return to a protest and throw his freedom back in the administration's face.
Others questioned why he wasn't spending time with his newborn child, given he missed the birth while he was detained.
'He's not a citizen. Why is he being allowed to continue terrorizing American students?' one critic asked.
'Mahmoud Khalil 's green card should be revoked permanently. He doesn't belong in the US when his whole purpose is to stir up discontent and rage. No other country would put up with this behavior from a foreigner with a green card,' another wrote.
'Apparently spending quality time with his 3 mo old baby wasn't high on his priority list—inciting violence against Jewish people came first,' a third added.
Speaking to the New York Times after his release, Khalil warned President Trump that the actions of his ICE agents had done little to deter him.
'I don't think what happened to me would stop me [from protesting],' he said.
'If anything, it's actually reinforced my belief that what we're doing is right.'
Khalil compared his arrest to the actions of government agents in Syria who acted outside of the scope of the law, noting: 'That's literally what made me flee.'
After arriving back in New York, Khalil had said: 'If they threaten me with detention, even if they would kill me, I would still speak up for Palestine.
'I just want to go back and continue the work I was already doing, advocating for Palestinian rights, a speech that should actually be celebrated rather than punished.'
But Khalil made a name for himself when he arrived on Columbia's campus in 2023 as he tried to organize guest speakers to discuss the so called apartheid in Israel on campus and led the pro-Palestinian movement.
By 2024, he was acting as a negotiator between the University and protestors who had set up an encampment on campus in solidarity with Palestinians suffering in Gaza.
Despite securing a green card in November 2024, Khalil was arrested by plain clothes ICE agents on March 8 while returning home with his wife from dinner with friends.
Agents initially said his student visa had been canceled, but when it was noted that Khalil did not need a student visa, Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed he had been identified as a foreign policy threat.
Khalil was transferred to a detention facility in Louisiana, and spent a total of 104 days incarcerated while a team of high powered lawyers worked tirelessly to secure his freedom.
Now, authorities are challenging his release and seeking ways to secure his deportation.
Assistant Homeland Security secretary Tricia McLaughlin said: 'This is yet another example of how out of control members of the judicial branch are undermining national security.
'Their conduct not only denies the result of the 2024 election, it also does great harm to our constitutional system by undermining public confidence in the courts.'
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