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.
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.”
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.
