00:00Well, first, friends, thank you so much for everything, not only for today.
00:20It's just for every day, like just your words, your words of support, your messages have kept
00:28me going.
00:31Still the fight is far from over, the genocide is still happening in Gaza, Israel is still
00:40waging a full war against Palestinians across Palestine.
00:46The US government is funding this genocide, and Columbia University is investing in this
00:55genocide.
00:57This is why I was protesting, this is why I will continue to protest, not only if they
01:04threatened me with detention, even if they would kill me, I would still speak up for Palestine.
01:12Again, I just want to go back and just continue the work that Palestinian rights, a speech
01:26that should actually be celebrated rather than punished, as this administration wants to
01:32do.
01:33But we'll take a few questions.
01:35What would you say to the Trump administration?
01:39Because they wanted to keep you detained?
01:43What is your message to the president of Trump?
01:46Just the fact that I am here, it's a message.
01:49The fact that all these attempts to suppress pro-Palestine voices have failed now.
01:58So this is a message to this administration.
02:04How does it feel to be free?
02:08To be honest, I'm still trying to just comprehend that.
02:15Of course, it feels great.
02:16Of course, it feels great.
02:17When I was on the inside, I was free.
02:22I continue to advocate for Palestinians, for the immigrants who are left behind in that
02:37facility.
02:38The 1,200 men who, all of them, are incredible men, who the Trump administration are trying
02:45to portray as whether criminals or as they say.
02:53And as I said yesterday, whether you are a citizen, an immigrant, anyone on this land,
03:00you're not illegal.
03:02That doesn't make you less of a human.
03:06And this is what the administration is trying to do, to dehumanize me, to dehumanize the immigrants,
03:12to dehumanize anyone who, who actually does not agree with what that-
03:17Mahmoud, do you still believe in the promise?
03:19Excuse me.
03:20Excuse me.
03:21We're not going to do any more questions today.
03:22Come tomorrow to the press conference.
03:24Mahmoud, do you still believe in the promise of America, Mahmoud?
03:27Excuse me, please.
03:28Excuse me, please.
03:29No more questions today, but we do have one more speaker.
03:32And you can come tomorrow to the press conference.
03:37But because of the security here, we have to leave.
03:40So thank you.
03:41Thank you, everyone.
03:45I think we speak on behalf of so many people across this country, across so many people,
03:56welcoming Mahmoud home to be here and to be reunited with his wife and his newborn.
04:06He was imprisoned for 104 days by this administration, by the Trump administration, with no ground-
04:19the Trump administration.
04:20Because Mahmoud Khalil is an advocate for Palestinian human rights, he has been accused baselessly of horrific allegations,
04:29simply because the Trump administration and our overall establishment disagrees with his political speech.
04:36This was a form, his detention by ICE being taken from his home, as well as other advocates, Ms. Ozturk in Boston, Massachusetts, ripped off of the street.
04:49Being taken is wrong.
04:50Being taken is wrong.
04:51It is illegal.
04:52It is an affront to every American.
04:58And we will not allow and we will continue to resist the politicization and the continued political persecution that ICE is engaged in.
05:08And so we welcome Mahmoud home.
05:11We will continue to support the work of CCR, the ACL, the lawyers and organizers on the ground who have supported his family.
05:24And I have to, of course, thank my staff in office, Maureen Octor, who has done so much incredible work as well in ensuring that Mahmoud gets the justice and dignity that he deserves.
05:37And so right now, right now we hope that and we wish for Mahmoud and his family to be able to enjoy some peace after an incredibly difficult 104 days.
05:49But we also have a path ahead of us.
05:52This is not over.
05:53And we will have to continue to support this case.
05:56And I also want to thank, I know we have representatives from Senator Schumer's office and others, because everybody agrees.
06:02Everyone agrees that the persecution based on political speech is wrong.
06:07And it is a violation of all of our First Amendment rights, not just Mahmoud's.
06:12Thank you very much.
06:13I think the thing that we know first and foremost is that the Trump administration knows that they are waging a losing legal battle.
06:30They are violating the law and they know that they are violating the law.
06:34And they are trying to use these one off examples to intimidate everyone else from not going to school, from not using their speech, etc.
06:42And so we hope we've seen that a judge has tossed it, tossed up their actions not just once, but twice.
06:48And we hope to continue to advocate for the administration to follow the law.
06:57How's our hero?
07:06So please welcome to support free Palestine.
07:07America.
07:08We'll go to issues, please.
07:10But our team for musicals join our school today.
07:16So we'll leave our community on chap amanda.
07:20St. John, St. John.
07:50St. John, St. John, St. John, St. John.
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