Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil calls himself a 'political prisoner' in new letter

By Meredith Deliso & Sabina Ghebremedhin

Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil called himself a "political prisoner" in a new letter dictated from the Louisiana detention center where he remains held following his arrest on Columbia University's campus.

"I am writing to you from a detention facility in Louisiana where I wake to cold mornings and spend long days bearing witness to the quiet injustices underway against a great many people precluded from the protections of the law," Khalil stated in the letter, which was dictated over the phone to his family and obtained by ABC News from his legal team on Tuesday.

Khalil, a leader of the encampment protests at Columbia last spring, was detained on March 8. He was taken from his student apartment building to 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan and then to an immigration detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, before being transported to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Louisiana, according to his legal team.

Jeenah Moon/Reuters

Mahmoud Khalil speaks to members of media about the Revolt for Rafah encampment at Columbia University during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, in New York City, U.S., June 1, 2024. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo

Officials from President Donald Trump's administration have said Khalil was detained for his purported support of Hamas -- a claim his legal team has rejected.

In his letter, Khalil recounted the night of his arrest, which occurred while he returned to his residence on Columbia's campus with his wife, Noor Abdalla, an American citizen who is eight months pregnant.

"Before I knew what was happening, agents handcuffed and forced me into an unmarked car," he stated. "At that moment, my only concern was for Noor’s safety. I had no idea if she would be taken too, since the agents had threatened to arrest her for not leaving my side."

Khalil said he did not know why he was arrested or he faced "immediate deportation." He claimed the Trump administration is "targeting me as part of a broader strategy to suppress dissent."

"My arrest was a direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza, which resumed in full force Monday night," he stated.

Khalil said his detention "is a testament to the strength of the student movement in shifting public opinion toward Palestinian liberation."

"Students have long been at the forefront of change -- leading the charge against the Vietnam War, standing on the frontlines of the civil rights movement, and driving the struggle against apartheid in South Africa," he stated. "Today, too, even if the public has yet to fully grasp it, it is students who steer us toward truth and justice."

He called on students, as well as advocates and elected officials, to continue to "defend the right to protest" in support of Palestinians.

"At stake are not just our voices, but the fundamental civil liberties of all," he stated.

In a recent court filing, Khalil's attorneys ask for his return to New York from Louisiana, where he is being held pending an appearance in front of an immigration judge later this month.

His attorneys had previously asked for his immediate release in a separate filing.

Khalil said he hopes to be able to see the birth of his child, stating in his letter, "Knowing fully that this moment transcends my individual circumstances, I hope nonetheless to be free to witness the birth of my first-born child."

Khalil's lawyers said that during his detainment, plain-clothed ICE agents said his student visa had been revoked -- even though Khalil is in the U.S. on a green card. He has not been charged with a crime.

A federal judge has blocked Khalil's removal from the U.S. while weighing a petition challenging his arrest.

He is set to appear before an immigration judge on March 27.