Mahmoud Khalil, a leading figure in the pro-Palestinian student protests that have gripped US university campuses, has spoken publicly for the first time about his 104 days in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, describing the experience as “horrendous” and a “stain on the US Constitution.”
Standing on the steps of Columbia University on Sunday, where he had been a graduate student before his detention, the 30-year-old detailed the grim conditions he endured while held in a federal immigration facility in Jena, Louisiana.
“I shared a dorm with over 70 men, absolutely no privacy, lights on all the time,” Khalil recalled. “It’s so normal in detention to see men cry.”
Khalil, a legal permanent resident married to a US citizen with whom he shares a US-born son, was detained in March under deportation proceedings initiated during the Trump administration, which had designated him a national security threat due to his role in leading demonstrations against Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
On Friday, a federal judge ordered his release on bail, allowing Khalil to reunite with his family. Sunday’s speech marked his first return to the protest movement since regaining his freedom.
Describing his time in custody, Khalil said he heard countless heartbreaking stories from fellow detainees.
“I listened to one tragic story after another: a father of four whose wife is battling cancer while he’s in detention; a man who has lived in the US for over 20 years with American children, only to face deportation,” he said.
Khalil found strength in moments of despair by holding onto a simple, defiant chant: “I believe that we will win.” He etched the phrase into his bunk bed, ensuring it was the last thing he saw before sleeping and the first he read upon waking.
Even now, free once more, he continues to repeat it: “Knowing that I have won in a small way by being free today.”
He also criticised Columbia University directly, accusing the institution of failing to support him during his ordeal.
“This university claims to want to protect its international students, but after more than 100 days in detention, I haven’t received a single call from them,” Khalil said.
His wife, Noor Abdalla, who gave birth to their son while Khalil was in custody, paid tribute to her husband’s resilience.
“His voice is stronger now than it has ever been,” she said. “One day, our son will know that his father did not bow to fear. He will know his father stood up when it was hardest, and that the world stood with him.”
