The ACLU of New Jersey today announced it will join the legal representation team of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student at Columbia University and one of the lead negotiators on behalf of protestors at the Gaza solidarity encampments in spring 2024, who was detained by the Department of Homeland Security on March 8 in New York. The news follows the transfer of the case to the District of New Jersey.
Mr. Khalil is also represented by Amy Greer from Dratel & Lewis, the Center for Constitutional Rights, CLEAR, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), the American Civil Liberties Union, Van Der Hout LLP, and Alina Das, co-director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic at New York University (NYU) School of Law.
Mr. Khalil, a U.S. lawful permanent resident, was detained while returning from an iftar dinner with his wife, who is currently eight months pregnant. He was initially taken to a detention facility in New Jersey before being moved to Louisiana without notice to his attorneys or family.
The following statement can be attributed to ACLU-NJ Executive Director Amol Sinha:
“Mr. Khalil was targeted by the federal government in direct retaliation for his advocacy in support of Palestinian rights. His arrest is a flagrant violation of the free speech protections which are afforded to everyone in the United States, regardless of viewpoint, and without regard to the identity or immigration status of the speaker. It is unconstitutional, un-American, and undermines our democracy for the government to arrest someone for their beliefs.
“Detaining Mr. Khalil and threatening to revoke his green card are blatantly illegal attempts to stifle constitutionally protected speech. The federal government must immediately release Mr. Khalil and end its attack on the fundamental freedoms at the very bedrock of our nation.”
