Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University pro-Palestinian activist who was detained by ICE for more than three months, spoke with ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis in the first on-camera interview since his release.
In the interview, which is set to air on Monday at 7 p.m. ET, Khalil reflected on his detention and pushed back against the Trump administration’s claim that he is a threat to U.S. national security.
Khalil, who was detained on March 8, described that day as “the most difficult day that I’ve ever lived.”
Watch more of Linsey Davis’ broadcast interview with Mahmoud Khalil on “Good Morning America” Monday at 7 a.m. ET and ABC News Live Prime at 7 p.m. ET.
Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil marches with supporters after he was released from ICE detention during a rally outside of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan, June 22, 2025 in New York City.
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“I felt like I was literally kidnapped, all the ‘know your rights’ that I’ve indulged myself into felt like nothing because at that moment ICE made it clear that you have no rights, whatsoever,” he told Davis.
Khalil, a green card holder who is married to Dr. Noor Abdalla, an American citizen, was a graduate student at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs where he took part in a series of pro-Palestinian protests on campus against the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
Abdalla gave birth on April 21 to the couple’s first child, a son named Deen, but Khalil’s request to be present for his son’s birth was denied. He did not meet him until May 22 while in custody.
“What did that mean that you were denied that?” Davis asked.
“That’s the most cruel thing that any administration would do,” Khalil said. “Clearly, I was not danger to the community, that they could have afforded me that opportunity to be with my son, but it’s not only about me, it’s about the thousands of people who cannot be with their children.”
Former Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian protest leader Mahmoud Khalil holds a press conference outside the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, June 22, 2025.
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Asked what his first night with his son was like, Khalil said that he “couldn’t sleep.”
“[I was] just looking at him, being with him,” he said. “I would be alert to any sort of expression that Deen would make because the moment that was stripped of me, of witnessing his birth, really impacted me on so many levels.”
Khalil was detained in March, with the Trump administration saying then in part that his continued presence in the country would pose a risk to U.S. foreign policy. However, Judge Farbiarz issued a preliminary injunction last week barring the Trump administration from continuing to detain him based on that assertion.
He was detained for an additional week until his release on Friday after the government argued for his continued detention based on their allegation that he misrepresented information on his green card application, an allegation that Khalil and his attorneys deny.
“The White House has said that you distributed pro-Hamas fliers. Secretary Rubio said that you created an environment of harassment toward Jewish students. President Trump said we got to get him the hell out of our country. Why do you think that you are perceived as such a threat?” Davis asked Khalil.
“Because I represent a movement that goes against what this administration is trying to do,” Khalil responded. “They try to portray me as a violent person. They try to portray me as a terrorist, as some lunatic, but not presenting any evidence, not presenting any shred of credibility to their claims.”
Former Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian protest leader Mahmoud Khalil shouts slogans in front of Columbia University after delivering a press conference in New York City, June 22, 2025
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Khalil was released Friday evening from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Jena, Louisiana, after U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz issued an order granting his release on bail. The judge said the government made no attempt to prove that Khalil’s release would irreparably harm them in some way or that Khalil represented a flight risk.
“What all that evidence adds up to is a lack of violence, a lack of property destruction, a lack of anything that might be characterized as incitement to violence,” Farbiarz said of Khalil.
The judge said that the conditions of Khalil’s release shall not include electronic monitoring or a requirement that a bond be immediately posted.
The Department of Homeland Security sharply criticized the judge’s decision to release Khalil, claiming in a statement on Friday that the ruling is “yet another example of how out-of-control members of the judicial branch are undermining national security,” and arguing “an immigration judge, not a district judge, has the authority to decide if Mr. Khalil should be released or detained.”
“Their conduct not only denies the result of the 2024 election, it also does great harm to our constitutional system by undermining public confidence in the courts,” the statement continued.
Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was released from ICE detention, and his wife Noor Abdalla participate in a rally on the steps of Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan, June 22, 2025 in New York City.
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The ruling to release Khalil came at the same time an immigration judge in Jena, Louisiana, denied Khalil’s request for asylum and ordered him to remain detained. Farbiarz’s order superseded that ruling.
Khalil, a grandson of Palestinian refugees who was born in Syria and has Algerian citizenship, said that he is facing “a very long fight ahead,” but said that he will not stop advocating for Palestinian human rights.
“I can be detained next week if the government prevails on appeal, which they will not,” he said. “But what I will focus on is continuing to advocate for Palestinians.”
“The threat of detention will not deter you?” Davis asked.
“Not any threat would deter me because no one should stay silent when people are getting killed. No one,” Khalil said.
Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil marches with supporters after he was released from ICE detention during a rally outside of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan, June 22, 2025 in New York City.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
The Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023, with Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel, where at least 1,200 were killed and 251 were taken hostage. There are 50 hostages that remain in Hamas captivity, with 27 that Israel believes are dead, according to Israeli officials.
The war has taken a severe toll on the Palestinian population in Gaza, with 55,104 people killed, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
When talking about the Palestinian movement, Khalil said there is “no place” for antisemitism or “any form of racism.”
“There’s no place for any form of racism, including anti-Blackness, antisemitism in the Palestine movement, and the Jewish students and people in general in the United States are an integral part of the Palestinian movement,” he said.
ABC News’ Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.
