Student Speaks out Against the Repression of Mahmoud Khalil

Katya Yindra

On March 8, Mahmoud Khalil was unlawfully arrested by the Department of Homeland Security for his work in the Palestine Solidarity Movement. He was detained by ICE and sent to Louisiana without notice to his lawyers or wife, who is 8 months pregnant. A student and friend of Khalil spoke to The Worker. KY is Katya Yindra and S is Student.

KY: Can you tell me about the night Mahmoud was arrested?

S: What happened is, as he and his wife were walking into their building two plainclothes ICE officers came in the door behind them. The door was still ajar, so they let themselves in behind, which is I guess according to ICE permission to be allowed in the building so that’s how they were able to arrest him. They had obviously been staking out that building for him specifically. They tried to detain him and his wife. They were saying he had his visa revoked. [Khalil and his wife] said he doesn’t have a visa; he is a green card holder. His wife went upstairs to their apartment to get the green card…they also got the lawyers on the phone saying that he has a green card. I was confused about this. They had no idea that he was a green card holder. They called whoever they were getting the directives from and were confused. Whoever was on the phone said, “just take him in.” The officers told him, “They’re revoking your green card” and they took it, which I don’t think ever happened before where a legal permanent resident has been detained in this way.

They told his wife and lawyers originally that he was brought to New Jersey for detainment, but the next morning when people went to visit him at the center, he was not there. There was confusion as to where he was located and they eventually figured out he was sent to the detention facility in Louisiana, which is one of the most notoriously dangerous places for people who are detained by ICE. There’s been record of torturing and sexual assault and death.

KY: How would you describe Mahmoud to someone who doesn’t know him?

S: As long as I’ve known him, he’s always been so kind and warm and welcoming. He’s someone that you can speak to for advice. He is very diplomatic. He is a mediator. He has extremely strong principles, but that does not stop him from hearing many different perspectives. He is very committed – there is a strength that radiates off of Mahmoud. He and his wife are just so hospitable and friendly. He and his wife are about to have a baby, you know, where they want to live and what they want to do and how this is such a huge transition and how they’re used to huge transitions. I could not think of two better people to become parents.

KY: What role has he played in the Palestine Solidarity Movement?

He has always been involved. He has been a council to many undergraduate and graduate students, and he has taken a negotiator and liaison position with admin to keep the student body safe—to make sure our underlying goals and principles are held. He could play the administration game in a way that is productive for everyone. Now he is being punished for his visibility in this process.

KY: Trump, Betar [a Far-right, Zionist organization], etc. have been attacking him; why do you think he’s been singled out?

S: I think the reason he’s been singled out is racism, is xenophobia point-blank. I think it’s probably his name, his appearance. He’s being used as a target and example, you know because he is a Syrian-born Palestinian, who is Muslim and has been speaking out against Zionism and imperialism and the genocide of his people. Shai Davidai, Zionist suspended professor of Columbia, has been doxxing him, threatening him, harassing him on social media, tagging the state department, tagging Marco Rubio. They’re directly targeting him as an individual asking for him to be deported. He has been turned into a target by Columbia itself and by employees of Columbia. Columbia did not give him the appropriate support, so he was an easy target for Trump. Also, because they made that mistake with the green card and it didn’t go smoothly, to plan, and the DHS were then forced to say “Oh now we’re going to revoke green cards as well.” Now they have to double down because they don’t plan—they just are reactionary racist evil people.

KY: Why is it important to show support for Mahmoud right now? How can people best show support?

S: It is imperative that people show support for Mahmoud right now. They stripped a legal permanent resident of his green card. The future of democracy is kind of in the hands of this case and whether or not administration can go on and do this to other legal permanent residents simply because of their political beliefs. It is a clear mark of fascism. People have to just stand up and stand the line. How far are we gonna let this go? Someone was abducted from their home, on university property by ICE. Detained in this horrifying, traumatic manner. He is a legal permanent resident who under the law should be protected here in this country. He should have free speech. Also, it shows the complicity of universities and these massive institutions that are just falling to fascism. Columbia has fully fallen into fascism. They’re catering to fascist autocrats. It shows that students are not safe, and people are not safe to simply be out in the streets protesting a slaughter of innocent people. The US and universities laud international students for diversity, yet fail to support and protect them. Everyone needs to pay attention to Mahmoud’s case and to support him and put pressure to reverse this decision so that it cannot happen again.

The Worker calls on all progressives and revolutionaries nationally and internationally to show support for Mahmoud Khalil, signing the petition for his release, donating to his legal campaign, writing letters of solidarity, and organizing for his release.

Image: A demonstration on Columbia University campus calling for freedom for Mahmoud Khalil

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