June 23, 2025 New York, NY – After more than three months in immigration detention, Mahmoud Khalil, the former Columbia University graduate student whose incarceration ignited a national conversation about free speech and protest rights, made his most comprehensive public remarks Sunday. His powerful address from the steps of the historic Cathedral of St. John the Divine, just a stone's throw from the Columbia campus, offered a raw and unflinching look into his ordeal and the Trump administration's case against him.

Khalil, a Palestinian born in a Syrian refugee camp and a legal permanent U.S. resident, was released on bail Saturday from an ICE facility in Jena, Louisiana. He returned to New York City to reunite with his wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, and their son, who was born while Khalil was unjustly detained.

A Reluctant Face of the Movement: Khalil Refutes "National Security Threat" Claims

For months, Khalil has been the subject of intense media scrutiny and, as he pointed out, baseless allegations from figures like US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who branded him a "national security threat." On Sunday, Khalil meticulously dismantled these accusations, asserting his identity not as an extremist, but as a "human rights defender," a "freedom fighter," a "refugee," a "father and husband," and "above all… a Palestinian."

His March 8 detention by plainclothes Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents in his apartment building lobby, witnessed by his then eight-months-pregnant wife, was, in Khalil's words, "like I was literally being kidnapped." He recounted a terrifying 30-hour period of incommunicado detention, where he was denied information about the accusations against him.

A DHS spokesperson had previously claimed Khalil "led activities aligned to Hamas." However, no evidence supporting the Trump administration's serious allegations has ever been presented. Instead, Khalil's ongoing immigration case, while he remains out on bail, centers on allegations he lied about his employment history on his green card application – claims he vehemently denies.

Columbia's "Shameful" Actions and the Fight for Palestinian Rights

Khalil, who has not been charged with any crime, reiterated Sunday that "there isn’t any shred of evidence that what I did or said is wrong." He didn't mince words when lambasting Columbia's Board of Trustees for their decision to expel and suspend other student protesters, calling their actions "shameful."

He alleged a troubling double standard within the university administration: "in private tell me there is anti-Palestinian racism at Columbia; there is manufactured hysteria about antisemitism at Columbia University because of the protests, but they don’t dare to talk about that in public."

"Columbia University will do everything and anything to ensure that the words ‘free Palestine’ are not uttered anywhere near it," Khalil declared, before leading the crowd in a powerful chant of "free, free Palestine."

Mahmoud Khalil and his wife, Noor Abdalla, greeted supporters at a rally on Sunday. Cristina Matuozzi/Sipa/AP

"We Are Winning": A Father's Resolve and a Movement's Hope

Khalil's wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, introduced him at the rally, sharing the profound emotional toll of his detention, particularly his absence for their son's birth in April. Yet, her message was one of defiant hope: "he will raise [him] with pride, strength, and purpose. And one day our son will know that his father did not bow to fear. He will know that his father stood up when it was hardest and that the world stood with him."

Khalil offered a glimpse into the grim reality of his detention, jailed with 70 other men in a dorm lacking privacy, listening to "one tragic story after another" of individuals caught in the immigration system. He found solace in carving "we will win" into his bunk bed, a daily affirmation of resilience.

His release, he believes, is tangible proof that "we are winning." He sees it as "just the beginning of the end—the beginning of the end of the US complicity and the genocide in Gaza, the US unconditional support to the genocidal state of Israel and to Colombia’s complicity in Israel’s crimes."

Despite his newfound public profile, Khalil humbly stated, "I did not hope to be in this position, and I absolutely don’t want to be the face of the student movement, because there are much more students who are much braver than me." However, he accepted the mantle with resolve: "But here I am. I will definitely take that with pride. I would continue to advocate for Palestinian rights no matter the cost."