Wife of detained Palestinian Columbia student says she was naive to believe he was safe from arrest

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Mar 13, 2025 7:36 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Two days earlier U.S. agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University pupil and Palestinian activistic asked his woman if she knew what to bash if migration agents came to their door.

Noor Abdalla, Khalil's woman of much than 2 years, said she was confused. As a ineligible imperishable nonmigratory of the U.S., surely Khalil did not person to interest astir that, she recalls telling him.

"I didn't instrumentality him seriously. Clearly I was naive," Abdalla, a U.S. national who is 8 months pregnant, told Reuters successful her archetypal media interview.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents handcuffed her hubby connected Saturday successful the lobby of their university-owned flat gathering successful Manhattan. Khalil's apprehension is 1 of the archetypal efforts by President Donald Trump, a Republican who returned to the White House successful January, to fulfil his committedness to question deportation of immoderate overseas students progressive successful the pro-Palestinian protestation movement.

Earlier connected Wednesday, Abdalla, a 28-year-old dentist successful New York, sat successful the beforehand enactment of a Manhattan courtroom arsenic Khalil's lawyers argued to a national justice that helium had been arrested successful retaliation for his outspoken advocacy against Israel's subject battle connected Gaza pursuing the militant radical Hamas's October 2023 attack. They told the justice that was a usurpation of Khalil's law escaped code rights.

The justice extended his bid blocking Khalil's deportation portion helium considers whether the apprehension was constitutional.

Trump has said, without evidence, that Khalil, 30, has promoted Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist radical that governs Gaza. His medication has said Khalil is not accused of oregon charged with a crime, but Trump says his beingness successful the U.S. is "contrary to nationalist and overseas argumentation interests."

WATCH | Arrest 1 of the archetypal known to be linked to Trump's threats against pupil activists:

On Sunday, the Trump medication transferred Khalil from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement jailhouse successful Elizabeth, N.J., adjacent Manhattan, to a jailhouse successful agrarian Jena, Louisiana, astir 2,000 kilometres away.

Abdalla and Khalil met successful Lebanon successful 2016 erstwhile she joined a unpaid programme Khalil was overseeing astatine a non-profit radical that provides acquisition scholarships to Syrian youth. They started retired arsenic friends earlier a seven-year long-distance narration led to their New York wedding successful 2023.

"He is the astir unthinkable idiosyncratic who cares truthful overmuch for different people," she said. "He is the astir kind, genuine soul."

The mates are expecting their archetypal kid successful precocious April. She said she hoped Khalil would beryllium escaped by then. She showed Reuters a representation of a caller sonogram: a lad whose sanction they person yet to choose.

"I deliberation it would beryllium precise devastating for maine and for him to conscionable his archetypal kid down a solid screen," Abdalla said, adding that Khalil had insisted connected doing each the cooking, laundry and cleaning done her pregnancy. "I've ever been truthful excited to person my archetypal babe with the idiosyncratic I love."

The authorities has said it has begun proceedings to deport Khalil and is defending his detention successful the tribunal proceedings until then.

Trump has called the anti-Israel pupil protestation question antisemitic and said Khalil's "is the archetypal apprehension of galore to come."

Khalil was calved and raised successful a Palestinian exile campy successful Syria and came to the U.S. connected a pupil visa successful 2022, getting his U.S. imperishable residency greenish paper past year. He completed his studies astatine Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs successful December but has yet to person his master's grade diploma.

He became a high-profile subordinate of the Ivy League university's pupil protestation movement, often speaking to the media arsenic 1 of the pb negotiators with Columbia medication implicit the protesters' years-long demands that the schoolhouse extremity investments of its $14.8 cardinal endowment successful weapons makers and different companies that enactment Israel's government.

More than 1,200 radical were killed successful Israel successful the Hamas incursion, successful which 251 hostages were taken to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel's attacks person killed much than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza wellness officials, though the tally is apt importantly higher arsenic much than 10,000 radical are missing and believed to beryllium mislaid nether the rubble.

The Trump medication says pro-Palestinian protests connected assemblage campuses, including Columbia, person included enactment for Hamas, which the U.S. has designated arsenic a violent organization, and antisemitic harassment of Jewish students. Student protestation organizers accidental disapproval of Israel is being wrongly conflated with antisemitism.

Jewish module astatine Columbia held a rally and property league successful enactment of Khalil extracurricular a assemblage gathering connected Monday, holding signs saying "Jews accidental nary to deportations."

But Abdalla said nary 1 from Columbia's medication had contacted her to connection help, which she recovered frustrating.

She said her husband's absorption was connected supporting his assemblage done advocacy and successful much nonstop ways. She has had a fewer little telephone calls with Khalil from jail, wherever helium told her helium had been helping different detained migrants with mediocre English capable retired forms written successful legalese and donating nutrient to his jail-mates, bought from his commissary account.

"Mahmoud is Palestinian and he's ever been funny successful Palestinian politics," she said. "He's lasting up for his people, he's warring for his people."

Abdalla ended Wednesday's interrogation abruptly erstwhile she saw Khalil was calling her from jail.

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