No Land to Stand On by Mahmoud Khalil review
The Palestinian Columbia student snatched by ICE writes about his Kafkaesque ordeal with a quiet fury
TL;DR
- Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder, was detained and faced deportation due to his pro-Palestinian activism at Columbia University.
- His memoir, "No Land to Stand On," describes his 104-day detention as a "Kafkaesque ordeal" and criticizes US immigration policy and creeping authoritarianism.
- Khalil highlights the profit motive in private detention centers, where detainees are seen as revenue, and criticizes Columbia's administration for prioritizing commercial interests over student grievances.
- The article notes that Khalil's case drew scrutiny, but many other detainees are less fortunate, languishing in the system.
- Khalil's personal history as a Palestinian refugee underscores his conclusion that "Palestinians are the exception to every rule the supposed free world claims to hold sacred."