It’s been weeks since Mahmoud Khalil was abducted from his home in New York and taken to an ICE detention facility in Louisiana. Khalil is a student activist and negotiator in the 2024 Columbia University pro-Palestinian campus occupation. He is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. and married to an American who is pregnant with their first child. No charges have been filed.
A judge is working for his release to New Jersey where family, friends, and his lawyer can provide his defense. Presumably, he came to the attention of Trump as Palestinian negotiator between protesters and Columbia University to call attention to the horror of the Gazan war. Here is an excerpt from his open letter of March 19, “My arrest was a direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and the end of genocide in Gaza.”
It is chilling that innocent people can be swept away and sent to an ICE jail 1,400 miles from home. Maybe you think you’re safe and it’s OK to arrest and attempt to deport Khalil without any evidence? But what if you protest Elon Musk taking a chainsaw to the VA, Medicaid, Social Security, and Medicare to give tax cuts to billionaires.
Trump’s goal is to traumatize all of us to keep our mouths shut. In the weeks ahead, students, advocates, and elected officials must unite to defend the right to protest for our earned benefits and for anything including a free Palestine or a free Ukraine. Our country was founded on free speech, a free press, and talking truth to power.
Cathy Ferbrache
Bothell
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