Columbia activist, Mahmoud Khalil, describes the night of his arrest in the new judicial presentation
The night when federal agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil on the Campus of Columbia University, the Palestinian activist feared he was immediately deported, according to an affidavit included in a new judicial presentation of his lawyers.
Khalil, leader of the protests of the camp in Columbia La Spring last, was arrested on March 8. He was taken from his student building to 26 Federal Square in Bajo Manhattan, and then to an immigration detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey, according to the presentation.
A Still of a video released by Mahmoud Khalil’s lawyer on him detained at Columbia University in New York City on March 8, 2025.
Mahmoud Khalil family
After waiting to enter a processing room, Khalil said they told him “they do not need you in that room” and “you are being transported,” according to the presentation.
Two agents arrived to escort him to a truck, according to the presentation.
“I asked if we were going back to 26 Federal Square, and they told me: ‘No, let’s go to JFK airport,” Khalil said in the presentation. “I was afraid that they were trying to deport me.”
In the presentation of the Court, Khalil’s lawyers request their return to New York from Louisiana, where he is detained awaiting an appearance in front of an immigration judge at the end of this month.
His lawyers had previously requested their immediate release in a separate presentation.
Mahmoud Khalil talks to the media members about the Rafah camp revolt at Columbia University during the continuous conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, in New York City, USA. UU., June 1, 2024.
Jeenah Moon/Reuters
While waiting for the flight to Louisiana, Khalil said he learned the name of one of the accompanied agents, Abdul, according to his affidavit. The other agent wore a Yankees hat, he said.
“Abdul told me that I was escorting me to Louisiana because” nobody wanted to take it, “the work of escorting me,” because it was a Sunday, “he said in the presentation.
Khalil’s lawyers said that during their care, immigration agents and customs of simple dresses said that their student visa had been revoked, although Khalil is in the United States on a green card. He is married to an American citizen, and has not been accused of a crime.
President Donald Trump’s administration officials said Khalil was arrested for his supposed support for Hamas, a claim that his legal team has rejected.
A federal judge blocked the elimination of Khalil from the United States while weighing a request challenging his arrest.
He is scheduled to appear before an immigration judge on March 27.
