Anti-Israel activist Khalil calls immigration detention a ‘kidnapping’

Anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil said that his immigration detention “felt like kidnapping” in his first interview since being released.

“All the ‘Know Your Rights’ information and fliers I read and familiarized myself with were useless,” Khalil told the New York Times in an article published Sunday. “There are no rights in such situations.” 

“It felt like kidnapping,” he added.

Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student, was released on bail from an immigration detention center on Friday following an order by U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz, who said it was “highly, highly unusual” to keep a legal U.S. resident in custody who doesn’t have accusations of violent offenses or that he’s a possible flight risk. 

NEWLY RELEASED MAHMOUD KHALIL SPOTTED BACK AT ANTI-ISRAEL PROTEST AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

In March, Khalil was arrested at Columbia over his anti-Israel activism on campus, and an immigration judge ruled he could be removed from the country based on a memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that said his campus protests were not aligned with U.S. foreign policy interests.

The Department of Homeland Security has also said that Khalil purposely did not reveal that he was employed with the Syrian office in the British Embassy in Beirut when he applied for permanent U.S. residency.

Khalil told the New York Times that his anti-isael protests were not “antisemitic.”

“I was not doing anything antisemitic,” Khalil said. “I was literally advocating for the right of my people. I was literally advocating for an end of a genocide. I was advocating that the tuition fees that I and other students pay don’t go toward investing in weapons manufacturers. What’s antisemitic about this?”

He also said he did not think that his efforts would be challenged. 

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Former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil poses after his release from federal immigration detention in Jena, La., Friday, June 20, 2025. (Kat Ramirez for Digital)

“I came here with a clear understanding of freedom of expression,” he said. “Even when it comes to Palestine. I never had any sort of concern that speaking up for Palestine would actually get me in jail.”

Rubio has defended the Trump administration’s apprehension of Khalil, saying that if someone applies for a visa to the United States and riles up anti-Semitic activities, their visa will be denied or revoked. 

“It was very ironic. I literally laughed,” he said, adding, “What did I do that I’m a foreign policy threat to the United States? Did I, like, damage, the U.S.-Israeli relationship? Because it doesn’t appear so.”

He told the New York Times that he believes money determines justice in America. 

“If you have money, there is rule of law,” he said. “If you are abiding by the very narrow definition of what this administration is defining an American value to be, you may get rule of law. Otherwise you have to fight tooth and nail to get your due process and your rights.”

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Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil told the New York Times that he believes money determines justice in America.  (Getty Images)

’ Brie Stimson contributed to this report.