Anti-Israel protester Mahmoud Khalil on Sunday bashed his alma mater Columbia University over its \u201chypocrisy\u201d in claiming to support international students while leaving him to rot in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center for three months until his release last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cI must call the hypocrisy of Columbia University. A university that just two weeks ago said that they want to protect their international students,\u201d lamented the 30-year-old, who was wearing a blue polo shirt emblazoned with \u201cLift the siege on Gaza,\u201d as he spoke on the steps of St. John the Divine in Morningside Heights, just blocks from the Ivy League\u2019s campus where he helped spearhead anti-Israel encampments last year. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhile over 100 days later, I haven\u2019t received a single call from this university.\u201d<\/p>\n
Khalil was arrested\u00a0by federal immigration authorities<\/a>\u00a0on March 8 and spent 104 days at a rural Louisiana detention center as the Trump administration fought to deport the Syrian-born permanent US resident. He was released from federal custody Friday after a New Jersey judge ordered his release. <\/p>\n \u201cI also must call out their double standards. How did we become targets of Israel-aligned groups?\u201d he continued. \u201cBecause Columbia University failed to protect students. Columbia University, in fact, emboldened these individuals to continue to harass and harm students.\u201d <\/p>\n The cathedral steps were packed with members of Khalil\u2019s legal team, his wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, 28, and his infant son, Deen, who was born while he was in ICE custody. Many supporters brought their own keffiyehs, Palestine flags and a sea of \u201cWelcome home\u201d signs mixed in with anti-ICE posters.<\/p>\n Mahmoud Khalil speaks at a homecoming rally in Morningside Heights Sunday, two days after he was released from a Louisiana ICE facility. Michael Nigro<\/p>\n Khalil was behind bars for three months. Michael Nigro<\/p>\n Khalil said he originally sought to hold the homecoming at Columbia, but school officials refused.<\/p>\n The Post reached out to Columbia for a comment.<\/p>\n \u201cColumbia administrators never disappoint to disappoint. So, I\u2019m not surprised. This is very shameful, because they are the ones who know me very well. They are the ones who, in private, in fact, tell me that there is anti-Palestinian racism in Columbia, that there is manufactured hysteria about antisemitism at Columbia University because of our protests, but they don\u2019t dare to talk about that in public,\u201d he insisted. <\/p>\n A judge deemed Khalil\u2019s detention to be unconstitutional and unjust. Michael Nigro<\/p>\n Khalil called out Columbia University for its \u201chypocrisy.\u201d Michael Nigro<\/p>\n Khalil was flanked by his wife, who gave birth to their son while he was in detention. Michael Nigro<\/p>\n While spirits were high at the homecoming, Khalil was quick to note that his release was not the end of their fight<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cMy being here today is sweet but it is not a victory,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n While Khalil has been released from detention, there is still an order for his deportation from an immigration judge that his team continues to fight. The Trump administration is also trying to appeal the release order.<\/p>\n