Merve Berker
23 June 2025•Update: 23 June 2025
ANKARA
Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate, has spoken publicly for the first time since being released after more than three months in US immigration detention, denouncing his arrest as “a kidnapping” and pledging to continue his advocacy work.
In an interview with The New York Times, Khalil, 30, recalled the March 8 incident when plainclothes immigration officers arrested him in the lobby of his New York City apartment building.
“It felt like kidnapping,” he said. “There are no rights in such situations.”
Khalil, a US permanent resident, had been held in a detention center in Jena, Louisiana, for 105 days.
He was released on bail Friday after a federal judge ruled that the law used to detain him was likely unconstitutional.
According to court documents, Khalil was never charged with a crime.
Instead, the Trump administration invoked a mid-20th-century statute claiming he had undermined US foreign policy through his leadership in pro-Palestinian protests.
The Department of Homeland Security and the White House said Khalil’s actions endangered Jewish students and incited antisemitism, allegations not substantiated in court.
“This is not about ‘free speech,’” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said.
“This is about individuals who don’t have a right to be in the United States siding with Hamas ... .”
Khalil denies ever expressing support for Hamas and said: “I was literally advocating for an end of a genocide.”
From refugee camps to pro-Palestinian protests
Born in a Syrian refugee camp, Khalil fled to Lebanon at age 18 and later moved to the US to study computer science, eventually enrolling at Columbia in January 2023.
His involvement in campus activism intensified after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
As protests mounted, he became a prominent organizer and was later targeted by right-wing organizations.
While in detention, Khalil shared a crowded room with over 70 men and was plagued by concerns for his wife, Noor Abdalla, who was eight months pregnant at the time of his arrest.
He was denied permission to attend the birth of their son on April 21.
“I know how much Noor wanted me to be next to her while delivering the baby,” he said, adding: “There was nothing in this world that would compensate me for the time I lost with my family.”
Khalil said he spent his time in detention helping other inmates, translating questions and aiding in communications with the authorities.
He also read books including Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning and Silky Shah’s Unbuild Walls to maintain hope.
His release came after US District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz determined that the law used to detain him was constitutionally questionable.
The administration, however, continues to seek his deportation.
Despite the ordeal, Khalil said the experience had only strengthened his resolve.
“I don’t think what happened to me would stop me,” he said. “If anything, it’s actually reinforced my belief that what we’re doing is right.”
