The Democratic Socialists of America and a Chinese Communist Party-linked far-left activist network have redoubled their efforts to prevent the deportation of Mayor Zohran Mamdani ally Mahmoud Khalil in the wake of a recent court ruling against the anti-Israel activist.

Khalil, now a green card holder who is married to a U.S. citizen, was a leader in the pro-Palestine and anti-Israel encampments at Columbia University in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023. A federal district court judge last summer blocked ICE efforts to deport him, but a federal court of appeals opened the door for deportation again on Thursday, leading the DSA and a far-left activist network tied to wealthy Marxist businessman Neville Roy Singham to quickly launch defenses of Khalil.

Mandami: "Political repression"

“Last year's arrest of Mahmoud Khalil was more than just a chilling act of political repression, it was an attack on all of our constitutional rights,” Mamdani tweeted on Thursday. “Now, as the crackdown on pro-Palestinian free speech continues, Mahmoud is being threatened with rearrest. Mahmoud is free — and must remain free.” A host of other DSA leaders also tweeted in defense of Khalil.

The Manhattan-based Marxist revolutionary People’s Forum and the fringe anti-war activist group Code Pink also quickly rallied to Khalil’s defense, with the forum saying it was organizing anti-ICE protests in his name. Just the News previously reported on how these and other radical activist groups have leadership links or financial ties to a funding network backed by Singham. 

The GOP-led House Oversight Committee voted this month to subpoena Singham for information about this sprawling activist network.

Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) was the pro-Palestine and anti-Israel group that sparked many of the student encampments, and Khalil was a lead “negotiator” for CUAD as the group occupied buildings on Columbia’s campus in the wake of the deadly Hamas terrorist attacks.

The DSA, the People’s Forum, and Code Pink did not respond to a request for comment.

“You are not welcome here”: Trump Admin hints Khalil to be deported again

A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that a lower court judge did not have the proper jurisdiction to order Khalil to have been released from immigration detention last summer — a ruling which could eventually lead to him being arrested again.

In a 2-1 ruling, judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit concluded this week that the lower court had improperly intervened, stating that “the scheme Congress enacted governing immigration proceedings provides Khalil a meaningful forum in which to raise his claims later on — in a petition for review of a final order of removal.”

The  American Civil Liberties Union, which is helping represent Khalil, said that “the opinion does not go into effect immediately and the Trump administration cannot lawfully re-detain Mr. Khalil until the order takes formal effect, which will not happen while he has the opportunity to seek immediate review.”

The State Department said Thursday that the federal appeals court “has struck down the decision made by an activist judge to release pro-Hamas activist Mahmoud Khalil. This is a huge win for the Trump Administration. We will not allow terrorist supporters to endanger the national security of the United States.”

“For the fake news peddling misinformation about the appellate ruling for Mahmoud Khalil, here is our stance in simple terms: If you sympathize with terrorists, your presence is contrary to the national and foreign policy interests of the United States,” Rubio said on X on Thursday. “You are not welcome here.”

Singham network prepares to ramp up public protests 

After the appellate court ruling, the People’s Forum quickly sought to connect Khalil to the broader anti-ICE protests being organized by the Marxist group and its allies, sharing a graphic on Thursday arguing: “Stop ICE Terror. Stand With Mahmoud. All Out on January 20” — the anniversary of Trump’s second inauguration.

“WE STAND WITH MAHMOUD KHALIL! ICE OUT OF OUR COMMUNITIES! This morning, a federal appeals court overturned Mahmoud's release order. His legal team has been clear: there's NO immediate legal basis for rearrest, and the fight continues in appeals,” the forum said last Thursday on X. 
 

“This happens as ICE’s reign of terror is escalating—they killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis and continue to target organizers and terrorize families across the country.  We stand with Mahmoud Khalil! On JANUARY 20 we will take the streets to stand up against ICE terror and make it clear that when they come for one of us, they come for all of us. SEE YOU IN THE STREETS!”

The communist activist group also posted this on Facebook and Instagram.

Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin also weighed in on Friday with a video where she waved a “Free Mahmoud Khalil” sign. Singham had married Jodie Evans, the other co-founder of the left-wing anti-war group, in 2017.

“I had to dig out this sign that I used to carry around last year when Mahmoud Khalil was in detention,” Benjamin said in her Friday video. Since his release, instead of staying quiet, he has been traveling around the country speaking out with tremendous courage, advocating for the rights of the Palestinian people." 

Code Pink’s main X account shared the same message as well as Benjamin’s video.

Singham's People's Forum another cog in the wheel

Just the News reported last March that the People’s Forum was a driving force behind protests condemning the detention and possible deportation of Khalil which launched last year. There are scores of videos posted by the forum on social media detailing the group’s role in organizing, promoting, attending, and leading the pro-Khalil protests, including a rally outside a NYC courthouse and a “sit-in at Trump Tower.” Khalil’s legal team addressed the crowd at a protest organized by the forum.

A tweet from the People’s Forum in June showed Khalil marching with forum co-founder Manolo De Los Santos.

Last year, the avowedly-communist forum connected its pro-Khalil efforts to its broader “Shut It Down For Palestine” street protest campaign and to a fight against ICE being allowed on campus. The group said that “we will take to the streets to demand the immediate release of Mahmoud Khalil and reaffirm our commitment to struggle for a free Palestine.” The forum urged supporters to be “All Out for Mahmoud Khalil.”

The Marxist revolutionary-style Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), which works closely with the People’s Forum and is also linked to the Singham network, had used nearly-identical messaging as the forum on Thursday to also promote the anti-ICE protests scheduled for next week. The PSL has been key in leading anti-ICE protests for many months.

The Singham-linked BreakThrough News outlet also wrote about the Khalil ruling on Thursday. 

Khalil and Mamdani rallied together — and share activist lawyer

When Khalil was first detained by ICE in March last year, Mamdani quickly made opposition to his arrest central to the democratic socialist’s mayoral bid. Mamdani later that month tweeted about how “I confronted ‘border czar’ Tom Homan who came to Albany to do Trump’s bidding — push for mass deportations, carry out the assault on working-class New Yorkers, and justify the unjustifiable detention of legal permanent resident and father-to-be, Mahmoud Khalil.”

Egyptian-American comedian Ramy Youssef brought Mamdani and Khalil on stage with him in a June show in New York City. Video from the event showed Khalil joining Mamdani and Youssef on stage, with Khalil and Mamdani hugging and embracing while the large crowd cheers.

The New Yorker reported that Mamdani and Khalil had first met in person at that event, and that while backstage, Mamdani had smiled, put his arm around Khalil, and said, “I wish I could take you with me everywhere.” The magazine added that Khalil told him that “I am excited about the possibility of raising my son in a city where you are mayor.” Khalil said that Mamdani was “a man so principled that ICE hasn’t arrested him yet” but that “you can tell they are thinking about it.” 

Contradicting The New Yorker, it was reported by L’Orient Today that Khalil previously spoke at a Mamdani rally in Queens in June. Khalil attended Mamdani’s swearing-in event at the start of the New Year, and Khalil was reportedly escorted to the front of the long line at Mamdani’s inauguration in NYC.

“Mayor Mamdani was the first to call for my release, to actually go in the street to call for accountability to what happened to me. So this is how the relationship started,” Khalil told Spectrum News NY1 at the Mamdani inauguration. “For him to be an advocate on my behalf, I appreciated that very, very highly, especially in a time where a lot of people did not. … Zohran insisted to go out and speak out on my behalf.”

Khalil added: “Muslim New Yorkers have a positive role to play in this city, and all these Islamophobia attacks against him did not succeed, because New Yorkers saw what is in Zohran [Mamdani], they saw potential of a person who cares about everyone.”

DSA members, Singham network calls for more activity in Khalil's defense

Ramzi Kassem, then the co-director of the Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility program (CLEAR) at the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law, was one of Khalil’s lawyers last year. At the end of December, Mamdani chose Kassem to be his mayoral chief counsel.

“Welcome to A New Era, Ramzi Kassem!” Mamdani tweeted last month. “Ramzi Kassem joins the administration from the City University of New York School of Law, where he co-founded and now co-directs CLEAR (Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility), which has been on the front lines of providing legal defense for students detained by ICE and supporting many more at risk.”

Aber Kawas, DSA member and a longtime Muslim activist who has made controversial statements about terrorism and 9/11, and was also endorsed by Mamdani for a New York state assembly seat in Queens, quickly sought to defend Khalil on Thursday in an X post which included two pictures of Kawas with Khalil, including one where Khalil has donned a red DSA-emblazoned winter hat.

“ICE’s cruel detention of Mahmoud Khalil for advocating for Palestine never should have happened. It was an honor to work with him and his legal team to secure his release,” Kawas tweeted. “We must NOW all stand together to make sure he remains free to be with his family & continue fighting for Palestinian freedom.”

Bondi: "Took advantage of our nation's generosity"

“Following my previously signed Executive Orders, ICE proudly apprehended and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student on the campus of Columbia University,” President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social in March. “This is the first arrest of many to come."

The federal appeals court ruling on Thursday means that Khalil may once more fight himself in the sights of ICE.

“Today’s ruling is deeply disappointing, but it does not break our resolve,” Khalil said in a Thursday statement after the ruling against him. “The door may have been opened for potential re-detainment down the line, but it has not closed our commitment to Palestine and to justice and accountability. I will continue to fight, through every legal avenue and with every ounce of determination, until my rights, and the rights of others like me, are fully protected.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi weighed in on Friday, saying on social media: “Secretary Rubio is exactly correct. Proud of our @TheJusticeDept attorneys for delivering this KEY court victory [...] A citizen of a foreign country took advantage of our nation’s generosity to sympathize for Hamas on American soil and advocate for terrorists. We will not let Khalil evade America’s immigration laws.”

“I will continue my advocacy until Palestine is free,” Khalil told the far-left Democracy Now! in a late-week interview. “All these attempts are just to really distract us from what’s really happening, which is Israel’s genocide in Gaza.”