Biography
Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian-Algerian lawful permanent resident and Columbia University graduate, was a negotiator and spokesperson for the 2024 Gaza solidarity encampment. ICE agents arrested him at his Manhattan apartment building on March 8, 2025 after the secretary of state invoked a rarely used foreign-policy ground for removal based on Khalil’s Palestine advocacy. He was transferred to Louisiana and held for 104 days. A federal judge ordered him released on June 20, 2025. The immigration proceedings continued after his release; in September 2026 the Board of Immigration Appeals rejected his effort to terminate the removal case. Khalil remained free while pursuing further judicial review.
The October 14, 2025 UN allegation letter describes Khalil’s March 8 New York arrest, transfer through Elizabeth, New Jersey to Louisiana, a June 11 court order and actual June 20 release. The earlier court order is not his physical discharge. A September removal order mentioned in the letter does not prove an executed deportation; later proceedings are separate. Source: https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=30402#page=7
