Mahmoud Khalil, in the first transmission interview, says he will continue “advocating what is correct”

Mahmoud Khalil, the activist of the University of Columbia who was arrested for the application of immigration and customs for more than three months, spoke with the presenter of ABC News Live, Linsey Davis, about his time in custody and promised to continue his right to Palestinian human rights in the first transmission interview since its launch on Friday.

Khalil, a green card holder who still faces the threat of deportation under the Trump administration, told Davis in an interview that was broadcast on Monday at the best moment of ABC News Live that despite the persistent threat of a renewed detention, he does not remain unchanged.

“No threat would dissuade me because no one should remain silent when people are killed. No one,” said Khalil, who in 2023-2024 helped lead a series of protests from Columbia University against the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.

Khalil, 30, was a student graduated in Columbia during the Pro-Palestinian movement that exploded in the University Campus in the United States, one that President Donald Trump promised to “fall in love” during his presidential campaign of 2024.

President Donald Trump, during his presidential campaign of 2024, promised to “crush” the protests because he said they were a seedbed of anti -Semitism.

“If you will sit and have a conversation with President Trump, what would you say?” Davis asked Khalil.

“My main message is that [President Trump] He promised that he would establish the Palestinian movement in this country 20 years ago during his campaign. But what really made me advanced the cause of Palestinian liberation for many years, “Khalil said.

According to the reports, Trump told donors last year at a closed door meeting during his campaign that would crush the university protests.

The movement was caused by the Israel-Ahamas War that began on October 7, 2023, with Hamas’ terrorist attack against Israel, where at least 1,200 were killed and 251 were taken as hostages. Fifty hostages still remain in the captivity of Hamas, and they are believed that additional 27 are dead, according to Israeli officials.

The war has affected the Palestinian population in Gaza, with 55,104 people killed, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, directed by Hamas.

“We do not ask that the Palestinians receive special treatment,” Khalil said about the demands of students led by students. “We literally said that we only want justice and equality.”

Who is Mahmoud Khalil?

Khalil, who was arrested on March 8 at his New York Apartment building, was the first high-profile pro-palestinian activist to be arrested by ICE under the Trump administration. That was followed by the arrest of several other student activists.

“I felt it was literally kidnapped,” Khalil recalled. “Everyone knows your rights’ in which I have allowed myself to feel nothing, because at that time the ice made it clear that you have no right.”

The grandson of the Palestinian refugees, Khalil was born and grew in a small refugee camp in southern Damascus. He became a refugee again in Lebanon during the Syrian civil war and then moved to Algeria, where he has citizenship. Khalil said he was first accepted at Columbia University in 2020, but had to differ until 2022 due to Covid-19 pandemic.

He is married to Dr. Noor Abdalla, an American citizen, who gave birth on April 21 with the couple’s first son, a boy named Deen. Khalil’s request to be present for the birth of his son was denied and did not meet him until May 22 while he was in custody.

He said that losing the birth of his son was the most difficult part of his arrest.

“What meant what they denied that?” Davis asked.

“That is the cruelest that any administration would do,” Khalil said.

When asked how his first night was with his son after his release, Khalil said “he couldn’t sleep.”

“[I was] Just looking at him, being with him, “he said.” I would be alert to any type of expression that Deen would do because the moment that was stripped of me, to witness his birth, really struck me at many levels. “

Why was he arrested?

By arresting Khalil, a legal resident of the United States, the Trump administration argued that its continuous presence in the country would represent a risk to the foreign policy of the United States.

“The White House has said that he distributed pro-hamas. The Secretary Rubio said he created an atmosphere of harassment towards Jewish students. President Trump said we have to take it out of our country. Why do you think it is perceived as a threat like that?” Davis asked Khalil.

“Because I represent a movement that goes against what this administration is trying to do,” Khalil replied. “They try to portray me as a violent person. They try to portray me as a terrorist, like some crazy people, but not presenting any evidence, not presenting any credibility to their statements.”

When talking about the Palestinian movement, Khalil said that “there is no place” for anti -Semitism or “any form of racism.”

“There is no place for any form of racism, including anti-Niñez, anti-Semitism in the Palestinian movement, and students and Jewish people in general in the United States are an integral part of the Palestinian movement,” he said.

The American district judge Michael Farbiarz issued a preliminary court order on June 11, which prohibits the Trump administration from continuing to stop it based on the claim that it is a threat to national security. But Khalil was arrested for an additional week until his launch on Friday after the government advocated its continuous detention based on its accusation that it misrepresented information about its green card application.

“The Trump administration has said you made omissions on your green card and you misrepresented yourself. Is there any truth in that?” Davis asked.

“Absolutely not,” Khalil said. “They added these accusations a week after my arrest because they knew that their first accusation is also incorrect.”

That comes later

Khalil was released on Friday from a center of application of immigration and customs in Jena, Louisiana, after Judge Farbiarz issued an order that granted his release on bail. The judge said that the Government did not try to demonstrate that Khalil’s release would irreparably damage them in some way or that Khalil represented a risk of escape.

“What all this evidence is added is the lack of violence, the lack of destruction of the property, the lack of anything that can be characterized as incitement to violence,” Farbiar said about Khalil.

The judge said that Khalil’s liberation conditions will not include electronic monitoring or a requirement to be published a bonus immediately.

The ruling to free Khalil at the same time came an immigration judge in Jena, Louisiana, denied Khalil’s application for asylum and ordered him to remain detained, but Farbiar’s order replaced that decision.

The National Security Department abruptly criticized the judge’s decision to free Khalil, saying in a statement on Friday that the ruling is “another example of how members outside the control of the judicial branch are undermining national security” and arguing “an immigration judge, not a district judge, has the authority to decide whether Mr. Khalil must be released or detained.”

“His conduct not only denies the result of the 2024 elections, but also does great damage to our constitutional system by undermining public trust in the courts,” the statement said.

As his case progresses, Khalil said he is “very worried” for the safety of his family and his family and said he knows that he could be arrested again if the appeal of the Trump administration in the Federal Court prevails.

Reflecting on “a very long fight ahead,” he said that administration’s threats will not prevent him from speaking.

“[The Trump administration] I want to make an example for anyone to talk about Palestine, “Khalil said.” But I would not prevent me from continuing to advocate what is correct. “

The contribution of Sabna Ghebremedhin of ABC News to this report.