Mahmoud Khalil blames 'anti-Palestinian racism' for arrest in first statement since ICE detainment

Mahmoud Khalil, a 30-year-old green card holder who is married to a U.S. citizen, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials on March 8. 

In one of the first legal victories for Khalil, a judge on Wednesday ordered his deportation case be heard in New Jersey, not Louisiana, where he is being held. The judge cited a law that required the case be held in the same jurisdiction where Khalil's attorneys first filed a lawsuit to challenge his detention. 

The Trump administration previously said there was a bedbug infestation at the detention facility in New Jersey, near Khalil's arrest, leading them to have to ship him to Louisiana.

"While I await legal decisions that hold the futures of my wife and child in the balance, those who enabled my targeting remain comfortably at Columbia University," Khalil wrote in his letter. "Presidents Shafik, Armstrong, and Dean Yarhi-Milo laid the groundwork for the U.S. government to target me by arbitrarily disciplining pro-Palestinian students and allowing viral doxing campaigns - based on racism and disinformation - to go unchecked."

"I have always believed that my duty is not only to liberate myself from the oppressor, but also to liberate my oppressors from their hatred and fear."