Mahmoud Khalil says detainment ‘felt like kidnapping’ in first interview since release
Khalil, a 30-year-old Columbia University graduate and permanent US resident, was the first student pro-Palestinian protest leader to be detained by the Trump administration.
Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil stands next to U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a day after he was released from immigration custody, at Newark airport in Newark, New Jersey, U.S., June 21, 2025. (photo credit: REUTERS/CAITLIN OCHS)ByGRACE GILSON/JTA
