Three months after sparking controversy when arrested by undercover immigration agents in the lobby of his New York residential building, Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist and US permanent resident, was released on bail and spoke publicly for the first time. In an interview published Sunday night in the New York Times, he said, "All the 'Know Your Rights' information and fliers I read and familiarized myself with were useless. There are no rights in such situations. It felt like kidnapping."
Two days after a judge ordered that migrant Mahmoud Khalil be released, he is already back on the streets in NYC, accompanied now by private security. Khalil was a main organizer for the violent pro-Palestine occupations and disruptions at Columbia. pic.twitter.com/PGPyVCcq73
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) June 23, 2025
Khalil, 30, a graduate of Columbia University, was a prominent figure in anti-Israeli student protests. He was not charged with criminal offenses, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio invoked an old law against him, claiming he acted against American foreign policy. According to Khalil, he was taken without a warrant, without being told where he was being transferred, and spent time in a Louisiana detention facility with dozens of other detainees.
Khalil said it reminded him of the way government agents in Syria operated outside the law. "That's literally what made me flee," said Khalil, who was born in a refugee camp in Damascus. "It was very ironic. I literally laughed. What did I do that I'm a foreign policy threat to the United States? Did I damage the US-Israeli relationship? Because it doesn't appear so."
During his detention, he missed his son's birth. "I know how much Noor wanted me to be next to her while delivering the baby. Nothing in this world would compensate me for the time I lost with my family and witnessing the birth of my child," he said.
The White House claims he is someone who supported Hamas and endangered Jewish students. According to officials, the arrest was "not about free speech." The accusations have not been proven in court. The Department of Homeland Security even called on him to "self-deport" and coordinate his deportation through an app.
Khalil continues to maintain his innocence and says Donald Trump only strengthened the Palestinian struggle. If Trump's goal had been to suppress pro-Palestinian speech, he had "absolutely failed. If anything, it's actually reinforced my belief that what we're doing is right."
In the interview, where he also tells his life story, he expressed deep disappointment with the US judicial system. "If you have money, there is rule of law. If you are abiding by the very narrow definition of what this administration is defining an American value to be, you may get rule of law. Otherwise you have to fight tooth and nail to get your due process and your rights."
