After 104 days in ICE detention, Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian advocate, was welcomed home Saturday by his family and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) at Newark Liberty International Airport. Ocasio-Cortez vehemently denounced Khalil’s arrest as politically motivated and a grave violation of his First Amendment rights, accusing the Trump administration of targeting him for his activism.
Khalil, 30, a Syrian-born permanent resident, was arrested by federal immigration authorities on March 8th and held at a Louisiana detention facility.
The administration alleged Khalil engaged in activities “aligned to Hamas,” a Palestinian terrorist group.
However, a New Jersey US District Judge, Michael Farbiarz, ruled on Friday that the government “clearly not met” the standards for his detention, leading to his release on bail. Judge Farbiarz noted it was “highly, highly unusual” to detain a legal resident unlikely to flee and not accused of violence.
“Because Mahmoud Khalil is an advocate for Palestinian human rights, he has been accused, baselessly, of horrific allegations simply because the Trump administration and our overall establishment disagrees with his political speech,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters. She vowed to continue fighting against what she termed “the politicization and the continued political persecution that ICE is engaged in.”
Moments after his return, Khalil, joined by his wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, 28, and their son, who was born during his detainment, affirmed his commitment to his advocacy.
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“I just want to go back and just continue the work that I was already doing, advocating for Palestinian rights – speech that should actually be celebrated rather than punished, as this administration wants to do,” Khalil stated.
He further criticized the US government’s actions, linking them to broader geopolitical issues. “The US government is funding this genocide, and Columbia University is investing in this genocide,” Khalil said, referring to his protests against these actions during his studies at Columbia.
“This is what I was protesting. This is what I will continue to protest with everyone of you. Not only if they threaten me with detention, even if they would kill me, I would still speak up for Palestine.”
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Khalil also expressed his determination to advocate for the “incredible men” he left behind in the immigration facility. His release comes with conditions, including the surrender of his passport and travel restrictions limiting him to specific states while his immigration proceedings continue in Louisiana.
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