Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University protest leader targeted for deportation by President Donald Trump, has met with lawmakers in Washington, DC. The visit comes just more than a month after the 30-year-old, a legal permanent resident of the United States, was released from immigration custody in Louisiana.
“I’m here in Washington, DC, today to meet with lawmakers, with members of Congress, to demand the end of the US-funded genocide in Gaza, and also to demand accountability from Columbia University, from the Trump administration for their retaliation against my speech,” said Khalil in a video interview with Reuters.
Khalil continues to face deportation under the Trump administration, which has relied on an obscure provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 in its attempts to expel international students involved in pro-Palestinian advocacy.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and immigration officials have repeatedly portrayed Khalil’s advocacy as anti-Jewish and supportive of Hamas, but they have failed to provide evidence backing those claims. Lawyers for Khalil and three other students targeted for deportation by the Trump administration have argued that their arrests trample on the constitutionally protected freedom of speech.
“To be honest, I feel that this is my duty to continue advocating for Palestinians. This is what the Trump administration tried to do. They tried to silence me. But I’m here to say that we will continue to resist. We are not backing down,” Khalil said. US Senator Bernie Sanders was among the lawmakers who met with Khalil on Tuesday. “We must not allow Trump to destroy the First Amendment & freedom to dissent,” Sanders said in a post on the social media platform X, accompanied by a photo with Khalil.
Khalil also met with Congress members Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Jim McGovern, Troy Carter, and Summer Lee. “Mahmoud Khalil is a kind, gentle soul who cares deeply about others’ humanity, and his abduction, detention, and ongoing persecution by the Trump Admin is egregious,” Pressley wrote in a post on X. “Our meeting today was fortifying and productive.” Earlier this month, Khalil, who missed the birth of his son while detained, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration alleging malicious prosecution, as well as false arrest and imprisonment. He is seeking $20m in damages or an apology from the government.