Anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil attended a rally in New York City on Sunday just days after he was released from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Louisiana.
The rally happened outside the Cathedral of St. John the Divine which is near Columbia University, NBC News reported on Monday.
Khalil, who is a graduate of Columbia, was arrested in March after leading radical protests on the campus, per Breitbart News. The article noted President Donald Trump had previously promised to deport foreign students fomenting anti-Semitic and anti-Israel protests on campuses.
While addressing the crowd, 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.”
Video footage shows him leading the chant, “Free, free Palestine!” as the crowd joined him:
A federal judge recently issued a ruling that Khalil be released from ICE custody. The Breitbart News report said U.S. District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, had “previously rejected Khalil’s request to be released from ICE custody, explaining that he had ‘not put forward factual evidence as to why it might be unlawful to detain him’ regarding the charge that he reportedly omitted information on his green card application.”
Video footage appears to show his arrival back in New York City after his release accompanied by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY):
His release comes after a U.S. immigration judge ruled in April that Khalil can be deported, per Reuters.
“In a separate case in New Jersey, U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz has blocked deportation while he considers Khalil’s claim that his arrest was made in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protections for freedom of speech,” the outlet said.
In early April, Emirati political analyst Dr. Salem Al-Ketbi warned that university campuses across the United States are now “targets for extremist organizations that exploit immigration laws to embed operatives, secure future U.S. citizenship, and cultivate a new generation of pro-terror activists — often under the radar,” per Breitbart News.
The article noted that Khalil has had roles in violent pro-Hamas campus activities and has been accused of being a “Hamas sympathizer” with anti-American views.
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