Hours before the Trump administration’s bid to continue holding Mahmoud Khalil in detention was green-lit by federal Judge Michael Farbiarz, a group of celebrity fathers united yet again to voice out their support for the Palestinian activist.
Last week, the Columbia University graduate opened up about the emotional toll of missing out on his son’s birth due to his ongoing US detention. In recently revealed court documents, he shared that the separation from his wife and their child were the “most immediate and visceral harms” he had experienced since ICE officers took him into custody in early March.
Mark Ruffalo, other Hollywood dads called for Mahmoud Khalil’s release, his reunion with his son
Highlighting the same plea, American Civil Liberties Unition (ACLU) released a video on Friday, June 13. The video titled “Celeb Dads Share Mahmoud Khalil’s Letter to His Newborn Son” featured prominent Hollywood dads – Mo Amer, Mark Ruffalo, Arian Moayed, Dallas Goldtooth, W. Kamau Bell, Mahershala Ali, Tom Morello and Alex Winter – speaking out in support of the activist and Palestinian rights. Delving into how Khalil was possibly feeling on being “forced to miss the birth of his son, his wife’s first Mother’s Day, and now his own first Father’s Day,” they read out excerpts from the pro-Palestinian protest leader’s letter addressed to his son, Deen.
According to the Guardian, the letter in question first came to light in May following the April birth of Khalil’s child as the activist was being held in a Louisiana prison. The clip commences with Mahmoud’s voice, as he speaks to his son over the phone while still in a detention centre. “Yaba Deen, these are my first words to you,” he’s heard saying. Eventually the letter titled “To my newborn son: I am absent not out of apathy, but conviction,” is read out in parts by pro-Palestinian celebrities undertaking the responsibility.
Mahmoud Khalil’s letter to his son
At one point during the video, Palestinian-American comedian Mo Amer read out on behalf of Khalil, “Deen, as a Palestinian refugee, I inherited a kind of exile that followed me to every border, every airport, every form. Borders mean something to me that they may not mean to you. Each crossing required me to prove my docility, my identity and my very right to exist.”
The letter eventually directs attention to his newborn baby being as an American citizen. The eight celebrity father continued reading, “You may never feel that weight. You may never have to translate your humanity through paperwork, countless visa applications and interview appointments. I hope you use this not to separate yourself from others, but to uplift those who live under the same circumstances that once constrained me. But I won’t pretend this citizenship protects you. Not completely. Not when you have my name. Not when those in power still see our people as threats… “
In Khalil’s words, Mo Amer also said looking directly into the camera, “Loving you is not separate from the struggle for liberation. It is liberation itself. I fight for you, and for every Palestinian child whose life deserves safety, tenderness and freedom.”
Pro-Palestinian Hollywood stars on their participation
The comedian best known for his Netflix comedy special “Mod Amer: The Vagabond” also shared the video on his X profile, adding, “This Father’s Day, join me in calling for the immediate release of Mahmoud Khalil.”
Similarly, he attributed his participation in the cause to his Palestinian roots. “I am a Palestinian refugee, came to America, became a citizen in 2009, and in 2023 I had a son,” he said in a statement shared by ACLU. “Mahmoud’s letter is like a dagger to the heart, and that’s why I’m doing this.”
“I can’t imagine being taken away from my child for speaking up for labor rights. I can’t imagine being taken away from my child for speaking up for Iranian rights. I can’t imagine being taken away from my child for speaking up for veterans rights,” said Iranian American actor and screenwriter Arian Moayed. “All of which I have done in the past. And now I’m saying the same thing. No human being deserves to be taken away from their child because of what they believe in. That’s not what this country is made for.”
Native American activist and actor from Reservation Dogs’ Dallas Goldtooth added, “I know that on this stolen land, nobody is free unless we are all free. And so this is an act of solidarity and love for any and all who dream for a better and healthier future for all of us, in all life on this plan.”
Mahmoud Khalil still in a Louisiana detention centre
Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia alum led Pro-Palestinian protests at the US institution last year. Immigration officials arrested him on March 8 as he was walking home after dinner with his wife, Noor Abdalla. The Palestinian activist is a green card holder with a student visa. Despite never being charged with a crime, he continues to face deportation fears.
Just days ago, a federal judge overturned a previous ruling, noting that Khalil could not be deported for his beliefs. “The petitioner’s career and reputation are being damaged and his speech is being chilled – and this adds up to irreparable harm,” Judge Farbiarz wrote at the time.
Mahmoud Khalil to remain in detention
Come Friday, June 13, in the United States, the judge again flipped the ruling and declined his release from detention. However, this decision is based on a separate alleged immigration violation. “It would plainly be unlawful to detain [Khalil] on a charge the Court preliminarily enjoined,” the judge stated in his order. “But by their letter of this afternoon … the [Trump administration] have now represented that [Khalil] is being detained on another, second charge… That second charge has not been preliminary enjoined by the court.”
The US judge further highlighted that the activist’s legal team had not offered “factual evidence” detailing why it “might be unlawful to detain him on the second charge.” It accused Mahmoud Khalil of not revealing his ties to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) and the Columbia University Apartheid Divestment coalition, in addition to his work for the Syria Office in the British Embassy in Beirut, on his green card application.
