Students are walking out of class today at noon in solidarity with Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian and recent graduate from Columbia University who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last Saturday for his organizing on campus. Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Graduate SJP and Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP) urged students and faculty to “reject ICE raids, reject the targeting of pro-Palestinian students, [and] reject all forms of state violence in the face of fascism” in a call to action posted to Instagram on Monday.
Khalil was heavily involved in the Columbia Gaza Solidarity Encampment that soon became the focal point of student movements for university divestment from companies involved in Israel’s war in Gaza. ICE agents took Khalil into custody at his university-owned apartment and told his attorney that his student visa had been revoked, despite Khalil being a permanent resident with a green card.
This post, updated by members of our News Department, seeks to provide up-to-date information and developments about the student walkout and will be periodically updated. Throughout the day, The News Department will also maintain immediate, real-time updates on X (formerly Twitter):
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1:47pm — Next speaker from SJP begins speech, crowd disperses
“In the West, expressing solidarity with Palestine, even whispering its name, is seen as a threat to the state.” “Those people who control the investments are called the UC Regents… they’re coming to our campus next week.” The speaker urged students to organize with the UC Divest coalition, before the crowd peacefully dispersed.
1:35pm — Southern California (SoCal) SJP representative follows 5 community speakers
A speaker from SoCal SJP says: “Khalil’s arrest shows clearly that Palestine is not a single issue. A year prior students were brutalized in Palestine encampments… Khalil’s detention is not an isolated instance… his arrest and detention stand as a clear example on how this movement intersects with the American imperial agenda… we demand that Mahmoud Khalil be released.”
1:23pm — The march begins heading west down Bruin Walk, gathering in Bruin Plaza.
The organizers open up the floor for any attendees to share their thoughts and experiences to the crowd.
1:14pm — Two representatives from Medical SJP begin to speak.
As students hold up papers that say “Free Mahmoud Khalil,” a counterprotester yells “you’re going to get deported just like your friend!”
Khalil’s deportation was recently blocked by a New York judge. Khalil is a Green Card holder, which grants him permanent residency in the US.
The speaker claims “We will not back down. Medical school administrators, and all those complicit – we see you.”
1:05pm — Next speaker from Palestinian Youth Movement begins talking to the crowd
“Prisoners are the compass of our struggle”, they state.
When the speaker’s bullhorn ran out of battery, the crowd compensated with chants of Free Palestine, cheering when the bullhorn came back on. “Students at UCLA have shown us what it means to be steadfast”, they say. “Students terrify the Trump administration just as we terrified the Biden administration before it.”
“Let us show what it means to be resilient against Zionist attacks.”
1:00pm — A speaker from SJP begins speech
The speaker tells the crowd to be proud of themselves for mobilizing quickly following the detention of Mahmoud Khalil. The speaker says “Khalil has been taken hostage by the state. Political prisoners in Palestine are at the heart of the liberation movement”.
Following the speech, chants begin again.
12:43pm — The protesters stop in front of Murphy Hall, denouncing administration
The organizers chant, “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest” and “Free Mahmoud Khalil now” outside Murphy Hall, UCLA’s primary administrative building.
A speaker denounces “surveillance by UCLA administration and also the state government… Columbia University didn’t do sh*t to protect [its students].”
A public safety aide stopped filming protesters when photographed by a reporter for UCLA Radio.
A counterprotester revs their car in an attempt to intimidate protesters. UCLA PD took no action to stop the revving.
12:28pm — Crowd grows to approximately 250 people, as organizers begin marching from Royce Quad
Organizers lead the crowd north as they chant, “UCLA you will see, Palestine will be free.”
12:22pm — Speakers from Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP) begin speeches
“Make no mistake. UCLA – like Columbia University – will probably do the same to us […] These administrations – Frenk and Trump – and they are one and the same, think we will abandon Palestine.”
A rallying member of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) says: “Mahmoud needs us to come out every f*cking day.” “You will have to take the life out of my body before I abandon Palestine.”
The second speaker, also from FJP, says: “We are witnessing a terrifying new McCarthyism.” “We will not stand by and watch our community members be bullied, be attacked.”
12:16pm — Approximately 150 people have gathered in Royce Quad
One student holds a Palestinian flag with faux bloodstains. Others hold banners reading, “The Nakba never ended,” and “By soul, by blood.”
12:00pm — Students gather at Royce Quad in protest of Mahmoud Khalil’s detention
In a walkout organized by SJP, Graduate SJP and FJP, UCLA community members are rallying in Royce Quad to oppose Khalil’s detention by ICE. UCLA is responding to a nationwide call to “defend the popular university” by National SJP, the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, Palestinian Youth Movement, and various other organizations.
Royce Quad, the site of UCLA’s first Palestine Solidarity Encampment, is not among the locations where UCLA’s revised Time, Place and Manner (TPM) policies permit public expression activities. UCLA’s administration has set up signs outside Royce Hall stating that “no events are permitted in this area today… Individuals participating in an event or public expression activity in this area are subject to discipline and/or arrest.” In a statement posted to Instagram in February, SJP wrote that “this movement will not be stopped by recording protesters, putting up signs about Time, Place, and Manner, or ‘prohibiting’ free speech in Royce Quad.” SJP and Graduate SJP were recently suspended by UCLA for a protest that took place outside UC Regent Jay Sures’s Brentwood home.
Photos by Lily Stockton
