Mahmoud Khalil recalled his time in ICE detention throughout his first New York look Sunday since he was unceremoniously arrested by ICE on March 8.
Picture by Dean Moses
Mahmoud Khalil stood on the steps of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Sunday afternoon and informed a crowd of a whole lot concerning the lengthy weeks he spent in ICE detention following his arrest on March 8.
Khalil — a inexperienced card holder — had been in ICE custody greater than three months after being detained in March for his function within the 2024 Columbia College pro-Palestine protests, throughout which he served as a negotiator and spokesperson for the individuals. A choose ordered his launch on Friday, and he was reunited along with his household the next day.
Whereas talking on the rally outdoors the cathedral on June 22, Khalil recounted the horrid and dehumanizing circumstances in federal custody, saying that whereas his arrest made headlines nationwide, he shared shut quarters with individuals in even worse conditions.
“I shared a dorm with over 70 men, absolutely no privacy, lights on all the time. I spent my days listening to one tragic story after another, listening to a father of four whose wife is battling cancer and he’s in detention,” Khalil mentioned. “I listened to a story of an individual who has been in the United States for over 20 years, all his children are American, yet he’s been deported. It’s so normal in detention to see men cry.”
Khalil appeared on the steps of the Cathedral of St. John the DivinePhoto by Dean Moses 
a whole lot of supporters who waved indicators studying “welcome home”Picture by Dean Moses
Moments earlier than his speech, Khalil appeared along with his spouse Noor Abdalla on the cathedral steps as a whole lot of supporters thunderously cheered and waved indicators studying “welcome home”; St. John the Divine hosted the rally after Columbia College refused to allow the occasion at their gates.
Khalil was taken from his dwelling at Columbia College, and whereas incarcerated in Louisiana, he missed the delivery of his little one.
“It felt like it was literally being kidnapped, where you have plane clone agents literally snatching you off your apartment building, without introducing themselves, without producing an arrest warrant. I was mostly concerned about my then-pregnant wife,” Khalil mentioned. “They basically cut off any means of communication for over 30 hours. These 30 hours were the most difficult time during the whole experience, the fact that you don’t know what’s happening.”
He known as out the varsity for failing to advocate for him and his household, stating that months later, he nonetheless hasn’t heard from them.
“The hypocrisy of Columbia University, a university that just two weeks ago said that they want to protect their international students. Why? Over 100 days later, I haven’t received a single call from this university,” he mentioned. “Maybe if there is a financial gain for them from doing that, they would have done.”
