Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil declared himself a “political prisoner” in an open letter released Tuesday from the Louisiana immigration detention facility where he’s being held.
In his first remarks dictated over the phone since his March 8 arrest, Khalil, a Palestinian refugee born in Syria, framed his detention as an attack on the right to free speech. He accused both the Trump and Biden administrations of anti-Palestinian racism, and Columbia leaders of having “laid the groundwork” for the federal government to target him.
“I am a political prisoner,” said Khalil, 30. “My arrest was a direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza, which resumed in full force Monday night.”
Khalil became a prominent figure in the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia last spring, serving as a negotiator with the Columbia administration over demands to divest from Israel and as a spokesman for the tent demonstration for Gaza.
He has not been accused of any crime, though the federal government is asserting Khalil’s presence in the United States could have “serious adverse foreign policy consequences,” according to Manhattan Federal Court filings. His lawyers have denied allegations that he sympathizes with Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
While he came to the United States on a student visa, he has since married an American citizen and holds a green card. His arrest has sparked criticism and widespread protests over the right to free speech, including from those who condemn what he has to say. President Trump pledged to deport pro-Palestinian international students on the campaign trail and since taking office has used immigration enforcement as part of his crackdown on college protests.
Video footage shows the moment Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil is taken into custody in front of his eight-months pregnant wife. (Noor Abdalla via ACLU)
In the letter, Khalil alleged federal authorities refused to provide a warrant on the night of his arrest, and confronted him as he returned to his Columbia apartment with his pregnant wife, Noor Abdalla. She is due to give birth to their first child, a son, next month.
“Before I knew what was happening, agents handcuffed and forced me into an unmarked car. At that moment, my only concern was for Noor’s safety,” he wrote.
Khalil recalled not knowing the reason for his arrest or if he would be immediately deported. He remembered sleeping on the floor of a Manhattan field office, before being shuffled around to another facility in New Jersey, where he slept without a bed again. As of Tuesday, he remained in Louisiana while his lawyers were in court pushing to bring him back to New York and for his release.
Palestinian supporters, including Mahmoud Khalil, second from left, demonstrate during a protest at Columbia University. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)
Reflecting on the circumstances that led to his detainment, Khalil accused the federal government of Palestinian repression, and the current and former presidents of Columbia of paving the way for the Trump administration. The university allowed its students to be doxxed, he said, and used disciplinary probes to silence students criticizing Israel.
Columbia did not return a Tuesday request for comment.
“Knowing fully that this moment transcends my individual circumstances, I hope nonetheless to be free to witness the birth of my first-born child,” he ended his letter.