Jacksonville rally demands freedom for Mahmoud Khalil

Jacksonville, FL – After hearing about the abduction of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian graduate from Columbia University who was a legal permanent resident, organizations in Jacksonville sprung to action. The Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, the Jacksonville Immigrants’ Rights Alliance, and the Jacksonville chapter of Students for a Democratic Society coalesced forces to rally on the morning of Saturday, March 15, with chants of “Free Mahmoud Khalil!” echoing through Jacksonville’s downtown.

Over 150 community members from all walks of life covered the steps of the Federal Building, with signs demanding Khalil’s immediate release, an end to the political repression and the targeting of our movements, as well as a call to action to defend immigrant communities in the face of a mass deportation campaign. Speakers made clear connections to the central force behind each of the attacks our communities are currently experiencing; the ruling class that seeks to sow division amongst the multi-national working class.

A member of the Jacksonville Immigrants’ Rights Alliance rallied the crowd around the fight against anti-immigrant legislation being advanced at the city level, “Legislation like 2025-0138 and 2025-0147 seeks to criminalize immigrants, deny essential services to families, and divert critical resources toward punitive measures like mobile fingerprinting devices for law enforcement. These bills are unjust, inhumane, and counterproductive. Denying services to children based on their immigration status is cruel and contradicts the values of compassion and fairness that we hold dear – We say no to these racist laws and no to the criminalization of our communities.”

An organizer with the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network urged that these attacks were nothing more than attempts to repress our broad movements, stating, “Rasmea Odeh, a Palestinian revolutionary who gained U.S. citizenship after surviving Zionist torture, was deported in 2017 in order to stoke fear and send shockwaves through our communities. And just as our movements fought back heroically against the state’s repressive attempts then, we will do the same now!”

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