US protesters call for Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist, to be released

Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist who assisted in planning nationwide campus demonstrations against Israel’s genocidal attack in Gaza last year, has been the target of protests across the United States.

On March 8, US immigration officials removed Khalil, a former student activist at Columbia University, from his house without filing any criminal charges against him.

Protesters with banners that said “Free Palestine,” “Release Mahmoud Khalil,” and “ICE off our campuses” gathered on Sunday outside the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters in Washington, DC.

Later, protesters took to the streets, shouting, “Free all the students today,” and “Free Mahmoud Khalil now.”

Additionally, protesters assembled in New York City, where they marched to Columbus Circle after rallying in Times Square. They were waving Palestinian flags and donning keffiyehs, which are traditional Palestinian scarves.

“Release Mahmoud immediately,” the demonstrators yelled.

For his release, rallies are also scheduled for this weekend in Boston, Phoenix, Charlotte, Oklahoma City, Miami, and Indianapolis, among other locations.

The former president of a union that defended thousands of Columbia student employees who were dismissed and expelled this week, Grant Miner, called Khalil’s incarceration “a campaign of fear.”

“We must stand up together to tell Trump and his billionaire buddies that we’re not going to stand for this intimidation and the backsliding of civil rights in this country,” he said to the audience.

Khalil, 30, is of Palestinian heritage and a lawful permanent resident. Tensions over immigration policy between the Trump administration and student movements have been heightened by his detention, which has caused indignation across.

The Trump administration used a vague foreign policy provision that permits the federal government to deport foreign nationals it considers to be “national security threats” as justification for Khalil’s arrest.

A court judge temporarily stopped the Trump administration from removing Khalil on Monday.

Khalil said he was the victim of “retaliatory detention and attempted removal of a student protestor because of his constitutionally protected speech” in an amended petition and complaint submitted to the federal district court in Manhattan on Thursday.

Students set up an encampment of several dozen tents on college campuses around the United States and held daily protests for weeks last spring.

Disturbed by Israel’s murderous campaign in Gaza, students called on their colleges to cut relations with businesses associated with the Tel Aviv government.

During the nationwide protests, over 3,100 students were taken into custody. Many continue to suffer repercussions from the court system as well as their universities.

A second Palestinian student was detained by immigration officials on March 15 for participating in anti-Israel demonstrations at Columbia University the previous year.

The student was identified by the Department of Homeland Security as Leqaa Kordia in a statement released on Friday. According to the report, Kordia was arrested for deportation when her student visa was revoked in January 2022.

On Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a threat that Washington would cancel additional students’ visas in the days ahead.