Mahmoud Khalil meets with lawmakers on Capitol Hill one month after release from ICE detention
Washington DC - One month after his release from ICE detention, Palestinian rights activist Mahmoud Khalil visited Capitol Hill to call for an end to US support for Israel and the persecution of student protesters on college campuses.
"Today, it has been one month since my release from ICE detention, being targeted, harassed, and imprisoned for speaking for the rights of Palestinians, for just opposing a genocide," Khalil said in a Tuesday video statement outside the US Capitol.
"Today, I am in Washington DC to meet lawmakers to demand the end of the US-funded genocide in Gaza," he continued, adding, "I am also here to hold the Trump administration and Columbia University accountable."
Khalil received no support from his university after his March 8 warrantless arrest in New York City and transfer to the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Jena. A prominent member of Columbia's Palestine liberation movement, he was targeted by the Trump administration for deportation due to his activism.
A federal judge in New Jersey ordered Khalil's release on bail last month, ruling he "is not a danger to the community. Period, full stop."
The 30-year-old spent over 100 days in detention, far away from his pregnant wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla. He missed the birth of his first child, a boy named Deen, when ICE refused to grant him a temporary release.
Khalil on Tuesday described his abduction and incarceration as "part of a larger effort to suppress the student movement, to make sure that Israel is immune to accountability."
"But we're not backing down," he insisted. "We will not be silenced. We will continue resisting until there is justice, freedom, and dignity for every Palestinian."
Bernie Sanders, Ilhan Omar, and more praise Khalil
Among the host of lawmakers Khalil met on Tuesday was Senator Bernie Sanders.
"I met with Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student at Columbia University, who was imprisoned for 104 days by the Trump administration for opposing Netanyahu’s illegal & horrific war in Gaza. Outrageous. We must not allow Trump to destroy the First Amendment & freedom to dissent," the Vermont independent posted on X along with a photo of himself and Khalil.
Representative Ilhan Omar also shared a photo with Khalil along with the message: "People across the country are facing consequences simply for standing up against a genocide and that should concern all of us."
The Minnesota Democrat added, "Earlier today, I spoke with Mahmoud Khalil, who was wrongfully detained under the Trump administration for exercising his constitutional rights. His experience highlights a long history of attempts to silence voices that challenge injustice.
"I had a productive meeting with Mahmoud Khalil today who was illegally detained by the Trump admin," echoed Representative Summer Lee of Pennsylvania. "Students continue to be wrongfully disciplined for exercising their First Amendment rights and protesting a taxpayer-funded genocide in Gaza. Our institutions shouldn’t fuel an authoritative regime by suppressing dissent, and we must continue fighting back."
The Department of Homeland Security issued its own statement on Tuesday once again calling Khalil a "terrorist sympathizer" and "antisemite."
Khalil has repeatedly affirmed his belief in the principles of international human rights and rejected the equation of advocacy for Palestinian freedom with antisemitism.
His visit to the Capitol came as Israel has slaughtered at least 59,106 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023 – with unflagging military and diplomatic support from the US.
The territory's entire population faces the overwhelming threat of mass starvation as Israeli forces continue to block the entry of humanitarian aid and to open fire on people desperately seeking food.
Cover photo: REUTERS