WASHINGTON, RAMALLAH, March 13, 2025 (WAFA) – Thousands of activists participated in demonstrations and protests in several US cities to protest the detention of Palestinian student and activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was detained by immigration officers as part of their efforts to deport him on charges of participating in what they described as "anti-Semitic" activities during the war of genocide committed by Israeli against Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

WAFA correspondent said that dozens of demonstrators gathered in front of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Rural Jena, Louisiana, to protest the arrest and detention procedures since March 8, and to reject Khalil's transfer to New York State for trial.

Hundreds of activists also demonstrated in front of the Manhattan Federal Court in New York to demand Khalil's immediate release.

This came as the first hearing in the Palestinian activist's case was being held. Following the hearing, Judge Jesse Furman temporarily extended Khalil's deportation injunction, which he had issued last Monday due to his pro-Palestinian activism on campus, to give the judge more time to consider whether the arrest was constitutional.

Demonstrations were held in downtown Chicago, Illinois, at the University of Oregon, Stanford University, ULCA University in California, and in Burlington, Vermont, to demand Khalil's immediate release.

US President Donald Trump had previously commented on Khalil's arrest, saying, "This is the first arrest, and there will be more," referring to the US administration's efforts to arrest other students who participated in university protests against the Israeli war on the Palestinian people over the past two years.

K.T