Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student detained and held since March by immigration agents, responded for the first time to the charges against him and described the “irreparable harm” his arrest has done to him and his family.
His wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, was eight months pregnant when Khalil was arrested March 8 at his New York City apartment building.
She said she had requested his presence at the birth but was denied by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In his declaration, he condemned the White House and President Donald Trump over the “grotesque and false” claims made against him.
Khalil said he had accepted a position at Oxfam International as a policy adviser, but the job offer has been revoked.
Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student who has been detained by immigration officials since March, addressed the charges against him for the first time and talked about the “irreparable harm” his arrest has caused him and his family.
His legal team filed a letter on Thursday supporting his request for a preliminary injunction in his federal case, which included a declaration he made: “I have suffered — and continue to suffer — as a result of the government’s actions against me.”.
My son Deen’s birth was directly linked to the most severe and immediate injuries I have ever suffered. As my wife labored alone, I was crouching on the floor of a detention facility, whispering through a crackling phone line, rather than holding her hand in the delivery room,” Khalil remarked. While seventy other men slept around me, I tried to console her while listening to her suffering. In an attempt to hide my tears, I buried my face in my arms when I heard my son’s first cries. “.
When Khalil was taken into custody at his apartment building in New York City on March 8, his wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, was eight months pregnant. She claimed that she had asked him to attend the birth, but U had turned her down. S. . enforcement of immigration and customs.
Khalil described his inability to see his family as “devastating.”. “.”.
He denounced the “grotesque and false” allegations made against President Donald Trump and the White House in his statement. Following his assistance in planning pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the university’s campus, Khalil was singled out for deportation.
A facility in rural Jena, Louisiana, is housing him.
According to a statement from a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, “being granted a visa or green card to live and study in the United States of America is a privilege.”. “.
“That privilege should be revoked and you should not be in this country when you promote violence, glorify and support terrorists who enjoy killing Americans, harass Jews, take over buildings, and deface property,” the statement continued.
According to DHS, Khalil was given the opportunity to self-deport and was given a contact visit with his wife and son prior to his court appearance.
A request for comment from ICE was not immediately answered, and the Department of Justice declined to comment.
“Seeing pictures of me that resemble mugshots circulated from the highest levels of the U.S. government is extremely painful and humiliating. A. “government — accompanied by inflammatory language, grotesque and false accusations, and open celebration of my deportation,” Khalil stated in the statement. “These were attempts to destroy my humanity, not merely criticisms of my personality. “,”.
After being called a “U” by the government, Khalil claimed that his wife and family had also experienced harassment. A. concern for foreign policy” and charged him with backing Hamas. The accusations against him, he claimed, are “deeply racist” and untrue. “,”.
According to Khalil’s lawyer, his arrest has harmed his reputation and “severely” hampered his aspirations to work in human rights advocacy and international diplomacy in the future.
Although Khalil claimed to have accepted a job offer as a policy adviser at Oxfam International, the offer was later withdrawn.
“I firmly believe that this decision was influenced by the Rubio Determination, my arrest and detention, and the subsequent public stigma,” he stated. “Your reputation is crucial for positions like this, so I wasn’t shocked. “.”.
According to Oxfam International, it doesn’t comment on specific HR or personnel issues.
In a different statement, Khalil’s wife expressed her fear for their security.
“Every part of our lives has been affected by Mahmoud’s case,” she stated. “As a Muslim woman wearing a hijab, I have always encountered Islamophobia, but Mahmoud’s arrest and ongoing legal proceedings have made it even more severe. These untrue accusations against Deen will have a lasting effect on his future, Mahmoud and my careers, and our wish for a stable life. “,”.
