New York, MINA – Hundreds of activists from the Jewish peace group Jewish Voice for Peace staged a sit-in at Trump Tower in New York on Thursday, demanding the immediate release of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, Middle East Monitor reported.
Chanting slogans such as “Free Mahmoud, Free them all!” and “Fight Nazis, not students!” protesters filled the lobby of the iconic building, expressing their outrage over Khalil’s detention. Many demonstrators wore red shirts with slogans like “Not in our name” and “Stop arming Israel.”
Khalil, a green card holder and a recent Columbia University graduate who helped organize campus protests last year, was arrested on Saturday at his university-owned residence. His lawyers have called the arrest a politically motivated attempt by the Trump administration to deport him.
According to The Washington Post, Trump had privately vowed during his campaign to expel pro-Palestinian foreign student protesters if re-elected.
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents claimed Khalil’s student visa was revoked, despite him being a legal permanent resident and not on a student visa. Agents then informed him that his green card had also been revoked.
Khalil’s wife, a US citizen who is eight months pregnant, condemned his arrest, saying she was “left wondering when Mahmoud will get a chance to call me.” []
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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