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An international non-profit organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of our colleagues around the world.

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Columbia University graduate and Permanent Legal Resident detained by ICE without being charged with an offense

March 17, 2025

Recent Columbia University graduate and Permanent Legal Resident of the USA, Mahmoud Khalil, was arrested on March 8th in New York City and transferred to an ICE detention center in Louisiana. It is not alleged that his actions would have been unlawful had he been a US citizen, so it seems his status as a (legal) immigrant is being used as a condition for is prosecution. This amounts to unequal treatment before the law, a violation of his human rights.

March 12, 2025

The Honorable
Marco Rubio
The Secretary of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Mr. Secretary,

The Committee of Concerned Scientists is an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers, and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world.

We are writing in regard to Mahmoud Khalil, a recent graduate of the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. On March 8th, Mr. Khalil was arrested at his home in New York City by officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and transferred to the Central Louisiana ICE processing center. It is our understanding that Mr. Khalil is a Permanent Legal Resident of the United States and is being targeted for his involvement in multiple protests at Columbia University since 2023. As far as we know, Mr. Khalil is not being charged with an offense, and his arrest was only made possible by his status as a (legal) immigrant. Furthermore, there seems to be no reason for his continued detention until his case is decided by a court of law. We therefore urge you to release Mr. Khalil immediately.

In addition, the Committee is concerned that Mr. Khalil’s prosecution amounts to unequal treatment before the law. As far as we know, neither the Department of Homeland Security nor the Department of State have alleged that Mr. Khalil took actions that would have been unlawful had they been committed by a US Citizen. It appears that the law is being applied differently to Mr. Khalil based on his status as an immigrant. Equality of all people before the law is protected by Article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the US is a State Party, as well as Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

We urge you to release Mr. Khalil immediately. Should evidence of unlawful behavior on his part arise, he should be tried under the same conditions as any US citizen and afforded the same legal rights and protections.

Thank you for your attention to this serious matter. We will be closely following developments in this case.

Sincerely,
null
Joel L. Lebowitz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

Cc:
The Honorable
Kristi Noem
Secretary of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528

Filed Under: CCS Cases, United States Tagged With: Mahmoud Khalil

Who We Are

Co-chairs

Joel L. Lebowitz, Rutgers University

Walter Reich, George Washington University

Eugene Chudnovsky, Lehman College

Alexander Greer, Brooklyn College

Vice-chairs

Biology – Max E. Gottesman, Columbia University

Chemistry – Zafra Lerman, MIMSAD Inc.

Computer Science – Rachelle Heller, The George Washington University

Engineering – Philip Sarachik, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering

Computer Science – Jack Minker, University of Maryland, College Park

Mathematics – Simon Levin, Princeton University

Honorary Board Members

Nancy Andrews, Duke University

Myles Axton, Chief Editor, Genetics and Genomics Next

David Baltimore, California Institute of Technology*

Alan J. Bard, University of Texas

David Gross, University of California, Santa Barbara*

James Langer, University of California, Santa Barbara

Peter Lax, New York University

Giorgio Parisi, Roma I University La Sapienza

John C. Polanyi, University of Toronto*

Stuart Rice, University of Chicago

Sir Richard J. Roberts, New England Biolabs*

Maxine Singer, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Alfred I. Tauber, Boston University

Myrna Weissman, Columbia University

Former Honorary Board Members

Jacob Bigeleisen (deceased), SUNY, Stony Brook

Raoul Bott (deseased) Harvard University

Owen Chamberlain (deceased), University of California, Berkeley

Stanley Deser (deceased), Brandeis University

Edward Gerjuoy (deceased), University of Pittsburgh

Pierre Hohenberg (deceased), New York University

Walter Kohn (deceased), University of California, Santa Barbara*

Louis Nirenberg (deceased), New York University

Marshall Nirenberg (deceased), National Institutes of Health*

Myriam Sarachick (deceased), City College of New York

Harold Scheraga (deceased), Cornell University

Sylvan Schweber (deceased), Brandeis University

Steven Weinberg (deceased), University of Texas, Austin*

Rosalyn S. Yalow (deceased), Mount Sinai School of Medicine*

* Nobel laureate

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