Mahmoud Khalil Returns to Columbia to Discuss Memoir

Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate, returned to the campus to discuss his memoir and credited Palestinian student advocacy with driving broader political shifts in the United States. About 100 people attended the event.

The visit was his first to Columbia since his arrest on March 8, 2025. Khalil, 31, helped lead pro-Palestinian student demonstrations at the university in 2024.

He was held for three months without criminal charge, even though he had permanent US residency, a status that lets non-citizens live and work in the country without a time limit. He was released from immigration custody, which is detention run by immigration authorities rather than the criminal courts, on June 20, 2025.

The memoir, No Land to Stand On: Notes from Detention, describes his time in immigration detention and his fight to stay in the United States, according to NPR, which published its report on October 5, 2026.

A Columbia spokesperson said the university is committed to rigorous debate, inquiry, and respectful dialogue across differing perspectives. The university also said it supports the right of faculty members to organize academic events, and that an invitation to speak does not signify university endorsement.

At the event, Khalil cited Dr Abdul El-Sayed, who is running for the US Senate in Michigan, and Zohran Mamdani, New York City's mayor, as examples of progressive candidates. Khalil attended Mamdani's public swearing-in ceremony in New York on January 1, 2026.

After his release, Khalil spoke with Reuters in New York City. He condemned antisemitism and said he had no regrets.

On October 19, 2026, Reuters reported that Khalil had asked the US Supreme Court, the highest court in the country, to overturn a ruling in his case.