They came from all over. New Orleans. Houston. Austin. San Antonio. And many other cities around the south as six large buses of demonstrators arrived at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Jena last week in support of detainee Mahmoud Khalil.
Others arrived by personal vehicles until the crowd topped 200 people, most wearing the nation of Palestine apparel and many waving Palestine flags. It was the largest demonstration at the facility to date.
The demonstrators came from all over in support of Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate who is being detained at the Jena facility until all final appeals have been exhausted. On April 11, an immigration judge ruled that he is deportable, but he is still being held as his attorneys use all legal means necessary to appeal their client’s deportation.
LaSalle Parish Sheriff Lane Windham, along with Jena Police Chief Scott McLendon and many officers from their departments and other state and federal officers, were at the facility early last Thursday as they received word the large demonstration was to take place.
“We contacted the buses when they arrived in the parish and informed them that they would not be able to park at the facility,” the Sheriff said. “We then made arrangements for them to drop their passengers off at the edge of the center’s property and had them walk up to the front of the facility where they demonstrated.”
The buses were escorted by an LPSO deputy, but the escort was to lead them to an appropriate place to park and wait for the demonstration to conclude, since they did not know their way around Jena.
The demonstrators brought ice chests with water, food, a generator and a sound system and they seemed to all work together although coming from various parts of the nation.
They marched slowly along Pinehill Road from where they were dropped off, but once in front of the facility, they abided by officers’ orders to clear the road. They then chanted and cheered, being led by various leaders, while on the side of the road and in the ditch.
“It was a large crowd but they were very respectful to all officers, and we had no issues,” Sheriff Windham said.
Mahoud Khalil was inside the facility where a day-long hearing was being held regarding his appeals as he sought asylum. His wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, was also present for the hearing, along with their newborn child. Khalil was permitted to hold his newborn child for the first time. He’s been detained in Jena since shortly after his arrest in New York March 8.
Dr. Abadalla came out of the facility during the time the demonstrators were marching to the front of the facility, and then to their delight, came and spoke to them.
She thanked them for their support and for making the effort to come to Jena. Abdalla, a U.S. citizen, said that she and her husband is very thankful for the support they have received from all over the world.
Khalil, who was born in a refugee camp in Syria with Algerian and Syria citizenship, entered the United States on a student visa where he attended Columbia University in New York. He is also a U.S. Green Card holder, but U.S. officials say he violated conditions of that status with his involvement and leadership in pro-Palestine and anti-Isarel protests on Columbia’s campus.
Department of Homeland Security attorneys said that Khalil misrepresented himself on his green car application and was not upfront about some of the organizations he is involved with. They said he willfully failed to disclose his employment with the Syrian office of the British Embassy in Beirut when he applied for permanent U.S. residency.
After he was ruled deportable on April 11, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem applauded the immigration judge’s ruling, saying Khalil “hates America.”
Inside the hearing last Thursday, it became heated several times between Khalil’s attorneys, the DHS attorneys and the immigration judge presiding over the hearing.
Ultimately, after 10 hours, the judge ordered Khalil’s attorneys and the Trump administration to submit closing arguments by June 2 before she rules on Khalil’s asylum request. Khalil will remain at the Jena facility until the case is decided.
The demonstrators started arriving around 10 a.m. and left around 4 p.m. Law officials reported they cleaned up the area where they were demonstrating, including picking up all trash, before leaving.
