Over the course of this second Trump administration, the legacy media selected several poster children for immigration before settling on alleged MS-13 ganbanger and accused human trafficker Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The first of these, though, was Columbia student agitator Mahmoud Khalil- who spent the past several months in ICE custody and was turned into a cause celébre. Now that he’s out and back protesting? Not even a peep.
The networks had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into coverage of the virulent antisemitic protests at major universities across the United States, beginning with those at Columbia University in New York. The protesters’ worst excesses were often left off of reporting, lest people get the idea that they were materially supportive both of Hamas and of the atrocities they committed on October 7th, 2023. But there is, at long last, an angle worthy of thorough media coverage.
Judging by the level of concern displayed by the media, Mahmoud Khalil emerges as their truest, purest victim of the still-ongoing student protests.
In the immediate aftermath of his release by a Biden-appointed judge, Khalil vowed to return to the protests. Per The New York Post:
Anti-Israel protester Mahmoud Khalil said he plans to continue his pro-Palestinian advocacy and bashed the US government upon landing in New Jersey Saturday on his way home to New York City after being held in a Louisiana detention facility for three months.
“I just want to go back and just continue the work that I was already doing, advocating for Palestinian rights – speech that should actually be celebrated rather than punished, as this administration wants to do,” Khalil said Saturday at a press conference at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Khalil, 30, was arrested by federal immigration authorities on March 8 and spent 104 days at the rural detention center as the Trump administration fought to deport the Syrian-born permanent resident.
And this afternoon Khalil got his wish, marching in a protest replete with “Free Palestine“ and “From the River to the Sea” chants.
BREAKING: Just days after being freed from ICE detention, Mahmoud Khalil helps lead chants at Pro-Palestine march from Columbia University. The green card–holding activist was arrested in March, held for 104 days, and released on bail after a federal judge ruled his detention… pic.twitter.com/zrWOIIpz88
— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) June 22, 2025
Khalil also addressed those present, giving a defiant speech:
This is Columbia’s Mahmoud Khalil speaking at the “Welcome Home Mahmoud” rally. This is likely the most complete version of his speech that’s publicly available—for now. The footage comes from BreakThrough News (funded by Neville Roy Singham), and even this version appears to be… pic.twitter.com/xyo3gI5nw7
— Stu (@thestustustudio) June 22, 2025
There is an interesting dovetail with current events given that Khalil’s activities were found to be “aligned with Hamas”, terror proxy of Iran, whose critical nuclear sites were at least partially destroyed in the successful Operation Midnight Hammer. And yet, none of the legacy newscasts saw fit to cover Khalil’s reemergence.
There were zero mentions of Khalil on the ABC, NBC, or CBS Sunday newscasts. Having proven himself to be who we always thought he was, there isn’t much further media use for Khalil until he is either deported or allowed via judicial fiat to finalize his citizenship process.
