Mahmoud Khalil Is Free. Now the Fight Gets Louder
On Friday, June 21, after 104 days of illegal detention, Mahmoud Khalil walked out of a Louisiana immigration prison. By Sunday, he was back at the gates of Columbia University, leading chants, surrounded by hundreds, and refusing to be silenced.
Mahmoud’s release is a hard-fought victory. It is also a warning: this is how far the government, backed by AIPAC-funded politicians, is willing to go to criminalize dissent.
They Tried to Break Him
In March, agents from the Department of Homeland Security arrested Mahmoud outside his New York home. He was flown to a private immigration prison in rural Louisiana. He was held without charge, missed the birth of his son, and was labeled a national security threat for organizing nonviolent protests against Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
They hoped to make an example out of him.
In June, U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz ruled that Mahmoud’s detention was likely unconstitutional and that continuing it would cause him "irreparable harm." The ruling made clear: the government was weaponizing immigration law to punish a young Palestinian father for speaking out.
For more than three months, Mahmoud lived in a dorm packed with 70 other men. He listened to one tragic story after another, carved the words "we will win" into his bunk bed, and stared at them every morning and every night.
The People Heard Him Anyway
On Sunday, Mahmoud returned to New York and stood before more than 1,000 supporters at a welcome home rally. Columbia University refused to let him hold the rally on campus, but that didn’t stop him. Surrounded by the people who had fought for his release, he marched to the university gates and declared:
“Mahmoud Khalil is a human rights defender. Mahmoud Khalil is a freedom fighter. Mahmoud Khalil is a refugee. Mahmoud Khalil is a father and husband. And above all, Mahmoud Khalil is Palestinian.”
This is what happens when we refuse to be intimidated. When we don’t let them pick us off one by one.
The Fight Isn’t Over
The Trump administration is already appealing Mahmoud’s release. They are still trying to deport him using Cold War-era laws revived to criminalize speech. AIPAC continues to bankroll the politicians who cheered on Mahmoud’s arrest, called for the prosecution of student protesters, and are pushing for new laws to silence pro-Palestinian voices.
Mahmoud’s story is no longer just his own. It is a national symbol of resistance. It reminds us of the stakes, the courage it takes to speak out, and the power we have when we stand together.
