LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – A group of Democratic lawmakers and local leaders from Michigan are calling for the release of a pro-Palestinian protestor at Columbia University that the Trump administration is considering deporting.

The letter to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is signed by politicians ranging from Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, State Rep. Dylan Wegela, Washtenaw County Sheriff Alyshia Dyer, and Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud. They call Mahmoud Khalil a “lawful permanent resident.” However, that is a technicality since the 30-year-old Syrian of Palestinian descent is an immigrant with a green card. The politicians frame Khalil’s arrest as a free speech issue.

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In addition, Khalil’s pregnant wife has Flint roots. An April 29, 2018 University of Michigan-Flint press release said  Noor Abdalla graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and “has several family members from Syria who are now refugees around the world.”

A copy of the signed letter is below.

 

Khalil helped spearhead pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University in 2024, and those protests sparked similar activity at campuses nationwide. In fact, the University of Michigan is one of 60 schools being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education for antisemitic discrimination and harassment.

However, the Trump administration will not be deterred. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio lambasted anchor Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation over the weekend. Secretary Rubio said, “When you apply to enter the United States and you get a visa, you are a guest.” Later on in the interview, Rubio stated, “We don’t need these people in our country; we never should have allowed them in the first place,” referring to Khalil and his spearheading of the takeover of buildings and violence on campuses.

 

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Khalil is being housed in Louisiana.