Saturday’s nationwide demonstrations appeared to be the largest yet following Khalil’s arrest and detention one week earlier at his New York City residence [Getty]
Demonstrators took to the streets on Saturday, during Saint Patrick’s Day weekend, in coordinated marches across the US to demand the release of detained Palestinian graduate Mahmoud Khalil.
Carrying signs with Khalil’s picture, others reading Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “Out of Our Communities and Free All Palestinian Political Prisoners”, demonstrators — generally numbering in the hundreds in each city — gathered nationwide.
Some protests took place near local Saint Patrick’s Day parades. While marchers largely kept to themselves, there were small displays of Palestinian solidarity within the holiday parades, including one sign reading Ireland for Palestine solidarity.
Saturday’s nationwide demonstrations appeared to be the largest yet following Khalil’s arrest and detention one week earlier at his New York City residence.
Khalil, a 26-year-old recent Columbia University graduate, had been a prominent figure in student activism. Known for his outspoken role in Gaza solidarity campaigns, Khalil was widely recognised for organising campus protests, coordinating teach-ins, and amplifying Palestinian voices during the height of last spring’s student protest movement.
A permanent US resident with a green card and married to a US citizen, Khalil had dedicated much of his academic and activist efforts to human rights issues. He frequently advocated for Palestinian causes, condemning the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and what he described as US complicity in the Israeli military campaign.
Israel’s military assault on Gaza became a major rallying point for student protesters in the US, sparking debates over free speech and academic freedom. Since the offensive began in October 2023, more than 61,000 Palestinians in Gaza — mostly civilians — have been killed by Israeli attacks.
Khalil’s arrest sparked fear and concern across student and immigrant communities. While initial protests were small and cautious, Saturday’s demonstrations reflected broader outrage.
Condemnations of Khalil’s detention have grown well beyond activist circles, with mounting concerns over what critics describe as a violation of his constitutional right to free speech.
“The only thing they can point to is that he was calling attention to the conditions in Gaza,” said Dina Saadeh, a member of the Palestinian Youth Movement in San Francisco, one of the groups that organized the marches.
“I think their intent was to create a chilling effect, but it’s actually been the opposite. The responses to his arrest have been growing in numbers. People have been refusing to succumb to repression,” she added.
Saadeh accused the Trump administration of testing public reaction. “If we lay low, they’re going to keep doing it,” she warned.
Following Khalil’s detention, several other Columbia University students were arrested, expelled, or had their degrees revoked. Shortly after Khalil’s arrest, Trump declared it was “the first of many to come.”
“We need to show up for Mahmoud Khalil,” Saadeh urged, emphasising the importance of the First Amendment in protecting the right to protest.
“We’re stronger in numbers. Some of us who were born here have the privilege to protect those who weren’t, and who are facing more of a risk. I think people understand that this moment is really critical.”
