NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani says Mahmoud Khalil should stay amid deportation

New York Metropolis Mayor Zohran Mamdani stated Thursday that anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil “should stay in New York Metropolis” whereas the Trump administration tries to deport him.

“Mahmoud Khalil is a New Yorker,” Mamdani stated at a press convention.

“He ought to keep in New York Metropolis,” he added. “We have now seen that this assault on him is a component of a bigger assault on freedom of speech, which is very pronounced on the subject of using that speech to face up for Palestinian human rights.

“And I’ll make it clear to everybody — and I’ve stated it time and time once more — that he deserves to remain within the metropolis. He deserves to be within the metropolis similar to each different New Yorker.”

ANTI-ISRAEL LEADER MAHMOUD KHALIL POSTS $1 BOND AFTER FEDERAL JUDGE RULES TRUMP ADMIN CAN’T ARREST HIM

New York Metropolis Mayor Zohran Mamdani stated anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil “should stay in New York Metropolis” whereas the Trump administration works to deport Khalil. (Getty Photos)

On January 15a federal appeals court docket dominated {that a} decrease court docket choose had no authority to order Khalil’s launch as a result of he sided with the Trump administration.

Within the 2-1 resolution, the three-judge panel of the third U.S. Circuit Court docket of Appeals dominated that U.S. District Choose Michael Farbiarz of New Jersey didn’t have “topic jurisdiction” underneath federal immigration legislation to cease the Trump administration’s efforts to take away Khalil.

In March, Khalil, a Columbia College graduate scholar from Syria, was arrested in Columbia for his anti-Israel activism on campus, and an immigration choose dominated that he could possibly be faraway from the nation primarily based on a memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio stating that his protests on campus have been inconsistent with U.S. overseas coverage pursuits.

MAMDANI CALLS ICE DETENTION OF NYC WORKER ‘ATTACK ON OUR DEMOCRACY’

Mahmoud Khalil poses for selfies after his launch from federal immigration detention in Jena, La., June 20, 2025. (Kat Ramirez for Fox Information Digital)

That was him ordered to be launched from authorities detention on June 20, after being arrested at his New York Metropolis condominium by Homeland Safety Investigations particular brokers in early March.

The New York Civil Liberties Union, which represents Khalil, instructed Fox Information Digital in a commentary that “Mahmoud can’t now be legally detained or deported as a result of his enchantment course of has not but been accomplished.”

The staff added: “However it’s no shock to listen to the administration repeating what has all the time been its final purpose: imposing the intense penalty of deportation on Mahmoud for his pro-Palestinian speech. The administration’s statements solely reinforce its disregard for the First Modification rights of individuals engaged in lawful protest and clarify why federal court docket intervention is so essential.”

White Home spokeswoman Abigail Jackson instructed Fox Information Digital that Khalil was “given the privilege of coming to America to check on a scholar visa he obtained by means of fraud and misrepresentation.”

“As now we have all the time maintained, the chief department has the lawful authority to take actions that defend the general public and make sure the integrity of our immigration system,” Jackson added.

“Khalil obtained his visa by intentionally and willfully failing to precisely report info related to his background. Those that mislead the federal government to achieve entry into the US can be delivered to justice.”

Khalil is a lawful everlasting resident whose spouse and little one are each American.

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Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was launched from ICE detention, speaks throughout a rally on the steps of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan on June 22, 2025 in New York Metropolis. (Spencer Platt/Getty Photos)

Brie Stimson and Ashley Carnahan of Fox Information contributed to this report.