Columbia University activist, was arrested before Federal immigration authorities Facing the possible deportation for his alleged support for Hamas, he issued a statement from within the detention facility where he is being held.
Mahmoud Khalil, a 30 -year -old Green Card holder married to an American citizen, was arrested by immigration and customs enforcement officials (ICE) on March 8.
in letter His lawyers issued on Tuesday, Khalil described his arrest as “an indication of anti -Palestinians.” He also blamed the Colombia administration, including former university president, Minosh Shavek, who was criticized for his failure to respond sufficiently to the allegations of anti -Semitic behavior of activists on the campus before he finally stepped down.
“My unjust detention indicates the opposing racism of the Palestinians, which was shown by both Biden and Trump's departments over the past 16 months, with the continuation of the United States. Providing Israel With weapons to kill the Palestinians and prevent international intervention, Khalil wrote: “For decades, the anti -Palestinian racism has prompted efforts to expand American laws and practices that used to oppress the Palestinians and Arab Americans violently. This is exactly the reason I am targeting.”
President Trump, Mahmoud Khalil and the demonstrators (Getty Images)
Khalil, who played a major role in anti -Israel protests in Colombia, is fighting against his deportation in the courts. It was not long before his arrest, judge The Trump administration temporarily prevented From his deportation.
In one of the first legal victories of Khalil, a judge on Wednesday ordered the deportation case in New Jersey, not Louisiana, where he is detained. The judge referred to a law that requires the case in the same jurisdiction, as Khalil's lawyers filed a lawsuit first to challenge his detention.
The Trump administration said earlier that there was a bugs injury at the detention facility in New Jersey, near the arrest of Khalil, which led them to ship him to Louisiana.
Khalil wrote in his letter: “While I am waiting for the legal decisions that bear the future of my wife and my child in balance, those who enabled me to target comfort at the University of Colombia.” “Presidents Shavek, Armstrong and Din Yarhi Milo laid the basis for the US government to target me by disciplining pro-Palestinian students and allowing viral overcoming campaigns-based on racism and discrimination information-unprecedented.”
New York Police officers patrol the role of the demonstrators supporting the Balatiyah outside the University of Colombia University in New York City on Thursday, April 18, 2024. Several students were arrested while officers cleared the camp in the campus park. (Peter Jerber for Fox News Digital)
Khalil said that his arrest was a direct insult to him First amendment Rights and a broader attempt before Trump administration To “suppress the opposition.” He wrote that “in the coming weeks,” students, activists and elected officials must “Al -Ittihad to defend the right to protest against Palestine.”
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“I always thought that my duty is not only to free myself from injustice, but also to free my oppression of their hatred and fear.”
