Mahmoud Khalil Freed After 104 Days in Immigration Detention
JENA, La. – After 104 days of being incarcerated under U.S. immigration laws, Palestinian activist and ex-student of Columbia University, Mahmoud Khalil, was eventually released on Friday, following the best of the ordered judges that pointed to problems in the legal reasoning of the government’s action.
The attention on Khalil’s case became a national issue and a climax–a notorious act–of the Trump administration’s policy towards college students’ protests, more specifically, the ones calling for the Israeli army to cease hostilities in the Gaza Strip. He was initially detained on March 8 in Manhattan, and the federal authorities attempted to send him back to provide deportation, meaning that the pro-Palestinian rallies, that fall as his involvements, are detrimental to U.S. foreign policy.
Despite this, U.S. District Judge Michael Farbairn very strongly disagreed. On the phone, Farbiarz asserted that Khalil posed no risk of escaping, did not pose any kind of threat to the public safety, and also pointed out it was rather exceptional to detain someone to such a loose extent. He also made it plain that Khalil had not been the actor of any violent incident and mainly functioned as a press officer instead of the protest leader.
After his release from the Jena, Louisiana facility, a well-dressed Khalil said: “All is now good. I feel that now justice has finally been done, however, but still, it is a pity that it took too long,” an interview conducted by an international channel is freshly recorded, with the man sharing he “should have never been here for three months.” The man is also glad but not oblivious to the situation of the state of civil rights in the country as being indicated by his detention situation.
Dr. Noor Abdalla, a U.S. citizen, Khalil’s wife, stated her own views of the situation, saying that “Justice finally has a chance to shine through. Still, it has been a very difficult time for our family.“
His remarks exposed that he had not engaged in any violent actions and had functioned more as a representative and not as a leader of the protest.
Outside the detention facility in Jena, Louisiana, Khalil, the released man, stated, “The right thing eventually won, but the matter should not have lasted this long. This should not have taken more than a few days.” Besides, he utilized the occasion to show his relief but at the same time toward the American civil liberties his detention may signal.
Dr. Noor Abdalla, the U.S. citizen who is married to Khalil, also affirmed her feelings towards the event, saying, “I can finally sleep at night. It’s been a nightmare till now.” However, she emphasized that she was not going to let the victory be a cover for the tough time they faced as a family.
Some may think that as the judge decided it wasn’t the battle. No, the fight goes on. The Department of Homeland Security pursues the path to the appeal. On the very day that Khalil was set free, at the same facility, an immigration judge made a decision on removing him and refused his bail – thus, demonstrating a conflict of jurisdiction between immigration courts and federal judges. DHS claimed that only immigration judges can deal with such detention matters.
Khalil is compelled to give up his passport and he is not permitted to leave the country, yet he will be given papers which allow minimal domestic travelling, mainly to attend court sessions and to see his family in New York, Michigan, and other cities.
Such a situation is a vivid illustration of the Trump administration policy to deport non-citizens who are involved in protests against Israeli practices. The officials insist that these types of demonstrations are anti-Semitic and pose a danger to the United States so that it should be stopped. According to human rights activists, however, the logic of the U.S. government thereby becomes a conflation of legitimate criticism with something which is considered to be hatred, and this makes it just like being turned into a mute.
The release of Khalil is similar to the decisions of the judges regarding the other student activists, following Mohsen Mahdawi from Columbia, Rumeysa Ozturk from Tufts, and Badar Khan Suri from Georgetown – all of them also were detained in the name of activism.
Khalil, thinking of the time he was in prison, put it in the words, “Being locked up showed me a very different side of this country – one that doesn’t always live up to its ideals of liberty and justice.” He stressed that no one should be seen as a criminal when they are fighting for what they are convinced is a fair cause and fighting for human rights, even if their status in the country is not correct.
Khalil’s trip to New York to meet his infant son marks a significant step forward, as it not only demonstrates his determination to reclaim his rights but also shows the very thin line that exists between national security and civil rights.
