DALLAS, Texas (KXXV) — On March 8, Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian graduate student at Columbia University, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Khalil, who was entering his graduate housing building, was ambushed by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents. The DHS claimed his student visa was revoked, despite Khalil being a green card holder.
When confronted, the agents stated that his green card had also been revoked. Khalil is currently being held in an ICE facility in Louisiana, more than 1,000 miles away from his eight-month-pregnant wife.
Students from the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), the University of North Texas (UNT), and the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) view Khalil’s detention as an attack on pro-Palestinian activism.
They see it as part of a more considerable effort by political leaders to suppress dissent against Zionism and the ongoing violence against Palestinians. In solidarity, students will gather at Chess Plaza, also known as “Gaza Liberation Plaza,” to demand Khalil’s release. The location holds significance, as it was the site of last spring’s protests calling for UTD to divest from corporations complicit in the Gaza genocide, a movement inspired by similar actions at Columbia University and other institutions.
The students will gather Thursday, March 13, at 5:30 p.m., students from The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), the University of North Texas (UNT), and The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) will gather at the UTD campus to demand the release of political prisoner Mahmoud Khalil.
