AOC blasts Trump's 'illegal' persecution of Mahmoud Khalil as she welcomes Columbia student back to NYC
Source: The Independent
Saturday 21 June 2025 15:12 EDT
Standing beside a recently released Mahmoud Khalil, Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez condemned Donald Trump’s administration for the “illegal” persecution of the Columbia University student, who was imprisoned for more than three months in an immigration detention center for his pro-Palestinian activism.
The New York congresswoman joined Khalil and his family at Newark Liberty International Airport Saturday for a press conference moments after his return. “Because Mahmoud Khalil is an advocate for Palestinian human rights, he has been accused, baselessly, of horrific allegations simply because the Trump administration and our overall establishment disagrees with his political speech,” she said.
Khalil was stripped of his green card and arrested in front of his then-pregnant wife in their New York City apartment building on March 8. He was then sent to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Louisiana, where he was held for more than 100 days and forced to miss the birth of his child.
On Friday, a federal judge granted his release from ICE detention on bail while legal challenges against his arrest and threat of removal from the country continue in both federal and immigration courts.
Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/aoc-mahmoud-khalil-trump-ice-release-b2774488.html