mahmoud khalil joined Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the mayor’s wife Rama Duwaji, and his own family for a Ramadan dinner at Gracie Mansion on Sunday. The gathering was framed by Mamdani as a moment of solidarity on the one-year anniversary of Khalil’s detention, highlighted publicly in a Monday Instagram post. The dinner comes as Mahmoud Khalil continues to face deportation following an ICE arrest early last year tied to allegations from the Trump administration about his green card application and his beliefs.
What happened at Gracie Mansion
Mamdani wrote that he and Duwaji welcomed Mahmoud Khalil, his wife Noor, and their young son Deen to Gracie Mansion “to break our fast together” for Ramadan. The mayor’s post included a photo from the meal, showing Duwaji holding a plate of food next to a seated Khalil eating.
In the same message, Mamdani described the past year for Khalil as “marked by profound hardship—and by profound courage. ” He also credited public support, writing that there has been “beauty” in “New Yorkers raising their voices in solidarity” and “a city refusing to look away. ”
Mahmoud Khalil’s immigration case and the allegations driving it
Mahmoud Khalil is described by the mayor as “a New Yorker, ” but the immigration case against him remains active. He was arrested by ICE early last year and faces deportation after the Trump administration accused him of committing fraud on his green card application. The same administration has also claimed Khalil is a Hamas supporter.
The Trump administration is using a rarely deployed statute that allows noncitizens to be deported if their beliefs can pose a threat to US foreign policy interests. Mamdani has publicly pushed back on that approach, arguing it reflects a broader pressure campaign around speech connected to human rights advocacy.
Immediate reactions from City Hall and the mayor
Mamdani, in his Monday post, wrote that “Mahmoud won his freedom, and a father was finally reunited with his child. ” He added a blunt political declaration: “Mahmoud is a New Yorker, and he belongs in New York City. ”
In a separate comment made at an unrelated press conference in January, Mamdani framed the situation as part of a wider issue beyond one case. “I see this attack on him as part of a larger attack on the freedom of speech that is especially pronounced when it comes to the use of that speech to stand up for policy to human rights, ” Mamdani said.
Quick context: detention, family, and a key ruling
Khalil’s son was born while Khalil was in ICE custody several states away last year. The child, Deen, will turn one on April 21.
Khalil spent three months in a Louisiana federal lockup before a three-judge panel in New Jersey ruled in June that he should have been allowed to work through the immigration process.
What’s next
The mayor’s dinner invitation places City Hall visibly alongside a figure he called “controversial, ” even as the deportation effort and political accusations remain unresolved. For now, the public stance from Mamdani suggests continued advocacy around the case, with the administration’s legal theory and Khalil’s status still at the center of the fight.
As Ramadan events continue and the anniversary of detention remains a flashpoint, mahmoud khalil appears set to keep contesting the efforts to remove him, while allies in city leadership continue to frame the case as a test of free speech and belonging in New York City.
