Pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was back at Columbia University on Sunday, just a day after he was freed from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention.
Khalil spoke to his supporters on the campus, where last year he became the face of many demonstrations.
"Well, well, here I am. Here I am with you," Khalil told his vocal supporters. "I'm grateful to be standing freely next to you all. I'm grateful to my wife, Noor, whose support, love and tears have kept me upright. I'm grateful to every single person who stood by me during this time.
"I would like to salute the courage of all the students at Columbia and across the nation," he added. "These students who continue to protest, I want to honor my friends, especially at Columbia University, especially those who are currently battling expulsion and suspension for their conscienceness stand."
The former Columbia graduate student returned home from an immigration center in Louisiana on Saturday, where he was held for more than three months.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Michael Fabiarz ruled Khalil does not need to be detained while the deportation proceedings play out and is neither a threat to his community nor a flight risk, adding he would not order electronic monitoring, either.
Fabiarz called Khalil's detention "highly unusual" and the federal government's actions "an effort to use the immigration charge to punish the petitioner" for his anti-Israel speech.
Khalil called the Board of Trustees at Columbia "shameful" for attempting to expel 15 more students and suspend others.
"Basically, they are stealing their futures, their degrees, their labor, merely because these students are not afraid. These students are not afraid to stand for Palestine," Khalil said. "Columbia University will do everything and anything it can to ensure that the words 'Free Palestine' are not uttered anywhere near it. But why are we here? 'Free, free Palestine!'"
He then led the crowd in a series of chants for Palestine, and, after a brief pause, said, “I hope that Columbia University heard your chants. In fact, even today, Columbia University refused to allow this press conference and rally to be held at the gates. Just so that we cannot remind them that they fund the killing in Gaza.”
Khalil then spoke for several minutes about how he sees himself and his cause.
“Who is Mahmoud Khalil? That’s what the administration has tried its best to portray me as someone who is violent,” Khalil said. “Mahmoud Khalil is a human rights defender. Mahmoud Khalil is a freedom fighter. Mahmoud Khalil is a refugee. Mahmoud Khalil is a father and husband. And above all, Mahmoud Khalil is Palestinian. Mahmoud Khalil is a Palestinian who refused to stay silent while watching a genocide in Palestine, a genocide that’s of course committed by the genocidal state of Israel that is funded by the U.S. government that’s invested by Columbia University.”
“While I’m grateful to be here with you all,” Khalil added, “I must say that this is only the beginning of a longer fight towards justice.”
The Trump administration has been seeking Khalil's deportation for his role in Columbia campus protests against Israel. He has not been charged with any crimes, but the administration says he should leave the country due to activities it deems are aligned with Hamas.
Attorneys for Khalil call the accusations baseless.