Defiant pro-Palestine protester sends message to Trump after being freed from ICE detention

A defiant pro-Palestinian activist has delivered a strong message to President Donald Trump after being freed from ICE custody following more than three months of detention.
Mahmoud Khalil, 30, a Columbia University graduate student was released Friday evening from an immigration facility in Louisiana after a federal judge ruled his continued detention violated his rights.
Khalil, a Syrian-born activist who holds Algerian citizenship and a US green card through his marriage, was arrested by ICE agents on March 8 after he participated in a series of violent pro-Palestinian protests on the Columbia campus.
In his first television interview since his freedom, the father-of-one told ABC News that he will not back down and that 'no threat' will stop him from advocating for Palestinians.
He said he represents 'a movement that goes against what this administration is trying to do' - and insisted he will not be silenced.
'Because I represent a movement that goes against what this administration is trying to do,' Khalil told the outlet. 'They try to portray me as a violent person. They try to portray me as a terrorist, as some lunatic, but not presenting any evidence, not presenting any shred of credibility to their claims.'
'I can be detained next week if the government prevails on appeal, which they will not,' he said. 'But what I will focus on is continuing to advocate for Palestinians.'
'Not any threat would deter me because no one should stay silent when people are getting killed. No one,' Khalil said.
He claimed he felt like he was 'literally kidnapped' when he was detained.
'I felt like I was literally kidnapped, all the 'know your rights' that I've indulged myself into felt like nothing because at that moment ICE made it clear that you have no rights, whatsoever,' he told the outlet.
While detained, Khalil missed the birth of his first-born.
'That's the most cruel thing that any administration would do,' Khalil said.
'Clearly, I was not danger to the community, that they could have afforded me that opportunity to be with my son, but it's not only about me, it's about the thousands of people who cannot be with their children.'
'There's no place for any form of racism, including anti-Blackness, antisemitism in the Palestine movement, and the Jewish students and people in general in the United States are an integral part of the Palestinian movement,' he said.
Khalil arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport on Saturday to an eruption of cheers after he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for over 100 days.
New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez greeted him at the airport and stood by his side as he spoke to the press.
Khalil defiantly spoke, telling reporters: 'If they threaten me with detention, even if they would kill me, I would still speak up for Palestine.'
'I just want to go back and continue the work I was already doing, advocating for Palestinian rights, a speech that should actually be celebrated rather than punished.'
Ocasio-Cortez spoke at the conference to condemn the Trump administration for 'persecution based on political speech.'
She added that Khalil was unlawfully 'taken' and argued that federal officials acted illegally when detaining the activist.
Khalil was granted release and freed on bail by a New Jersey federal judge on Friday.
The green card holder was taken into custody on March 8, 2025, as the Trump administration cracked down on pro-Palestine demonstrations on college campuses.
He was born and raised in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria and was a lawful permanent resident of the US.
Khalil was one of the primary organizers of protests that took over Columbia as the Israel - Hamas conflict was ignited.
In the ruling Friday, Judge Michael E. Farbiaz said that none of the Trump administration's allegations against Khalil justified his continued detention, and sided with Khalil's argument that he was locked up as an unlawful retaliation for his activism.
In his ruling on Friday, Farbiarz said: 'There is at least something to the underlying claim that there is an effort to use the immigration charge here to punish Mr. Khalil - And of course that would be unconstitutional.'
Khalil has not been charged with a crime, but the judge's order to free him comes as the Trump White House continues efforts to deport him back to Algeria, where he is a citizen.
When he was detained earlier this year, Khalil's case gained national attention as he was the first pro-Palestinian protester to be arrested by the Trump administration in its crackdown on college campuses.

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