A sold-out audience of more than 100 gathered in an Oakland church Saturday to hear Mahmoud Khalil, the pro-Palestinian organizer who was detained for months in 2025 and could still be deported if the Trump administration prevails in court.<\/p>\n
Khalil spoke at the First Congregational Church of Oakland, a progressive hub near the city\u2019s downtown, to promote his new book \u201cNo Land to Stand On: Notes from Detention.\u201d Attendees draped in keffiyehs said his presence in the East Bay was a galvanizing force in local movements seeking an end to U.S. support for Israel.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe definitely represents the turn of the tide,\u201d said Andrea Chung, who traveled from San Jose to hear Khalil. \u201cThe new generation, the college kids \u2013 they\u2019re the ones turning the tides.\u201d<\/p>\n
Khalil, 31, who was born in a Syrian refugee camp to Palestinian parents, was a graduate student at Columbia University in 2024 when he became a spokesperson and negotiator for its student movement condemning Israel during the Gaza war. Activists erected encampments and demanded \u2013 unsuccessfully \u2013 that university leaders cut ties with Israel.<\/p>\n
Immigration agents were directed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to revoke Khalil\u2019s residency, saying the protest activities had \u201cadverse foreign policy consequences\u201d \u2014 a move questioned by the courts. The move came as President Donald Trump condemned student protests cropping up across university campuses during the Gaza war, including at UC Berkeley<\/a> and Stanford University.<\/p>\n Khalil was held in a Louisiana detention center for more than 100 days, and then released when a court held that his deportation was likely unconstitutional. The Trump administration continues to seek his removal from the country, and Khalil said Saturday he and attorneys were preparing to petition the U.S. Supreme Court.<\/p>\n \u201cThey want to make an example of me, to have a chilling effect on others,\u201d Khalil told the audience on Saturday. \u201cEven if I get deported, at least people care. At least people care about Palestinians.\u201d<\/p>\n