BROOKLYN COLLEGE–Following the detainment by U.S. authorities of pro-Palestine advocate Mahmoud Khalil on March 8, activist communities across New York have launched efforts to free him.
On March 8, Khalil, a recent graduate of Columbia University, was arrested by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over his connection to organizing pro-Palestinian protests. He is currently being held in a detention center in Lousiana, according to NPR. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for Public Affairs and spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), mentioned that the arrest was connected to Khalil’s role in the protests, stating that he “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization,” according to AP News.
After receiving his permanent residency in the U.S., Khalil, a Syrian-born Palestinian, became an avid activist for the Palestinian cause at Columbia University. Khalil’s lawyers state that this arrest violated the free speech amendment.
In his letter released on March 18, which was his first public statement since the arrest, Khalil discusses the basis of his arrest. “My unjust detention is indicative of the anti-Palestinian racism that both the Biden and Trump administrations have demonstrated over the past 16 months […] U.S. laws and practices that are used to violently repress Palestinians, Arab Americans, and other communities. That is precisely why I am being targeted.”
