Night federal agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil on the campus of the University of Colombia, the Palestinian activist feared that he would be immediately deported, according to a sworn declaration included in a new court filed by his lawyers.
Khalil, the leader of the protest at the Colombia camp last spring, was detained on March 8th. He was taken from the building of his student apartments to 26 federal plaza in Lower Manhattan, and then at the immigration detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, according to the submission.
Still by a video published by Mahmoud Halil’s lawyer that he was detained at Colombian University in New York on March 8, 2025.
Mahmoud Khalil family
After waiting for him to enter a processing room, Halil said he was told “they don’t need you in this room” and “they are ventilated”, according to the submission.
Two agents arrived to accompany him to a van, according to the submission.
“I asked if we were going back to 26 federal platforms and they told me,” No, we’re going to JFK Airport, “Khalil said in the submission.” I was afraid they were trying to deport me. “
In court filing, Khalil’s lawyers want his return to New York from Louisiana, where he is held in anticipation of an immigration judge later this month.
His lawyers had previously requested his immediate release in a separate submission.
Mahmoud Halil spoke to the media members of the Rafa camp rebellion at Columbia University during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas Group in Gaza, USA, June 1, 2024 Reuters/Gina Mun/File Photo
Jeenah Moon/Reuters
As he was waiting for the flight to Louisiana, Halil said he had learned the name of one of the agents accompanying him, Abdul, according to his sworn declaration. The other agent was wearing a Yankee hat, he said.
“Abdul told me that he was accompanying me to Louisiana because” no one wanted to take it ” – the work to accompany me -” because it was Sunday, “he said in the submission.
Khalil’s lawyers said that during his detention, agents for the implementation of immigration and customs law enforcement said that his student visa had been canceled, although Halil was in the US on a green card. He is married to an American citizen and is not charged with a crime.
Officials from the administration of President Donald Trump said Khalil had been detained for his alleged support for Hamas, the claim that his legal team rejected.
A federal judge blocked the removal of Khalil from the United States as it weighs a petition challenging his arrest.
He is ready to appear before an immigration judge on March 27.
