Democracy Now! Audio - Democracy Now! 2025-07-03 Thursday

Episode Date: July 3, 2025

Headlines for July 03, 2025; EXCLUSIVE: Mahmoud Khalil, Palestinian Activist Jailed by ICE for 104 Days, in First Live Interview; GOP Budget Bill Slashes Medicaid for Millions, Cuts Taxes for the Rich, Funds ICE at Historic Levels

From New York, this is Democracy Now. $5 trillion added to the national debt to give tax cuts to the wealthiest people in the country. The one big beautiful bill ushers in the golden age. of America, as our great president says, where taxpayers, not illegal immigrants, are put first. This bill represents the largest cut to health care in American history. It's an all-out assault. The debate in the House of Representatives over President Trump's budget bill will go to Capitol Hill for the latest. But first, Mahmood Khalil, in his first live global broadcast, the Palestinian student activist green card holder now graduate of Columbia University

jailed by the Trump administration for 104 days, released just two weeks ago. Just the fact that I am here, it's a message. The fact that all these attempts to suppress pro-Palestine voices have failed now. this is the message. My existence is a message. The Palestinian existence is a message to this administration. We'll talk with Mahmoud Khalil about his arrest, his jailing, and his life now that he's free. All that and more coming up. Welcome to Democracy Now. Democracy Now.org, the Warren Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. On Capitol Hill, Republican leaders appear to have convinced enough far-right holdouts to win passage of President Trump's sweeping package of tax cuts for the wealthy and deep cuts to social programs, including Medicaid and food assistance.

At the time of this broadcast lawmakers are preparing for the final vote after House Speaker Mike Johnson won the support of Republicans who objected to its price tag, which the Congressional Budget Office says will add $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates some 17 million people could lose health insurance over the next decade as well if the bill is approved. will go to Capitol Hill for an update later in the broadcast. Officials in Gaza say Israeli attacks have killed over 300 Palestinians in the past 48 hours. Among the dead are at least 11 people killed in an Israeli air strike on a school housing displaced Palestinians west of Gaza City. Another attack on a tent encampment near Han Yunus killed 13 people, including a couple and their four children. Meanwhile, a strike on the Indonesian hospital killed Renewis. known cardiologist Marwan al-Sultan. He's at least the 70th health care worker killed by Israel

in the past 50 days. His daughter, Lubna al-Sultan, said her mother, sister, and aunt were also killed in the strike. My father is a cardiologist at the Indonesian hospital and the hospital's director. He is neither in any movement nor affiliated with anything. He just cares for the sick, treats them, and comforts them throughout the war. The war must stop. We are hungry. We are scared. We have lost people. I call upon everyone to intensify efforts to stop the war and do whatever they can to calm things down. Palestinians say at least 33 people have been slaughtered today as they queued for aid at militarized aid distribution sites run by the U.S. and Israel-backed so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The reportedly unprovoked killings came as the Associated Press published recent video showing U.S. contractors at GHF sites firing live ammunition and stun grenades at starving Palestinians as they scrambled for food. The AP says it received the footage from two U.S. contractors who wished to remain anonymous in order to blow the whistle on abuses.

the contractors report security staffers were often unqualified, unvetted, heavily armed, and seemed to have an open license to do whatever they wished. In this clip published by AP, contractors erupt in cheers as shots ring out. At that moment, bursts of gunfire erupt close by, at least 15 shots. This week, 170 charities and aid groups, including Oxfam Save the Children, and Amnesty International, signed a joint statement calling for an end to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, citing its blatant disregard for international humanitarian law, unquote. Meanwhile, Hamas says it's studying a ceasefire proposal that President Trump has called a final offer. Israel's Lakud Party is pressing for the formal annexation of the occupied West Bank, saying it hopes to complete the takeover ahead of a parliamentary recess at the end of July.

This comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed he'll visit Washington, D.C. next week to meet with President Trump. This week, the Pentagon approved a $510 million sale of bomb guidance kits to Israel. The sale comes as the Guardian reported Israel used a U.S. made 500-pound bomb when it attacked a crowded beachfront cafe in Gaza on Monday, killing dozens of Palestinians, including children, celebrating a birthday party. Britain's House of Commons has voted to ban the direct action group, Palestine action under the U.K.'s anti-terrorism laws, adding it to a list that includes ISIS and al-Qaeda. This comes just days after Palestine action members breached an Air Force base and damaged warplanes to protest Britain's support for Israel's assault on Gaza.

Ahead of Wednesday's vote, hundreds of people rallied outside 10 Downing Street to protest what they called an abuse of state power by Prime Minister Kier-Starmer and his labor government. I mean, we should have freedom of speech and freedom of standing against genocide. How does that make you a terrorist? I will never understand that. And I think it's people in power trying to silence people who are wanting to stand up for what is right. A UN human rights expert has named 60 companies she says are profiting from Israel's campaign. of genocidal violence in Gaza or the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank.

The report by Special Rapporteur for Palestine, Francesca Albanese, names manufacturers Lockheed Martin and Caterpillar, investment firm, BlackRock, and tech giants, including Alphabet and Amazon, among others. Meanwhile, hundreds of peace activists rallied in Washington, D.C. this week to protest the annual meeting of Christians United for Israel, of the largest pro-Israel organizations in the United States. On Monday, activists unfurled banners reading Cuffy Kills and No God Bombs Children. On Tuesday, police arrested more than 50 people as they held peaceful protests inside

congressional office buildings on Capitol Hill. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has struck down the Trump administration's efforts to ban asylum protections for migrants crossing through the southern border. In his ruling, Judge Randolph Moss overturned a proclamation issued by Trump on his first day in office that falsely declared an invasion at the U.S.-Mexico border and invoked emergency presidential powers to expel immigrants from the U.S. without due process or allowing them to seek asylum in violation of international and U.S. federal law. ACLU attorney Legal Earned, who argued the merits of the case, said in a statement, quote, this is a hugely important decision. Not only will it save the lives of families fleeing grave danger, it reaffirms that the president cannot ignore the laws Congress has passed and the most basic premise of our country's

separation of powers, unquote. This follows reports that Trump administration plans to dismiss the asylum cases of hundreds of thousands of people who entered the U.S. outside a port of entry in order to place them on expedited deportation proceedings. Attorneys representing Kilmar Abrago Garcia say the Maryland father was brutally beaten and tortured during the three months he was in prison in El Salvador after the Trump administration wrongfully sent him there in March. The reports of abuse were detailed in court documents filed Wednesday as part of a civil

lawsuit against the U.S. government that describe Abrago Garcia was, quote, subjected to severe mistreatment upon arrival at Seikot, including but not limited to severe beating, severe sleep deprivation, inadequate nutrition, and psychological torture, unquote. Kilmar Abrago Garcia's lawyers say he lost 31 pounds during his first two weeks of confinement at the Seikot Megap prison, and that later he and four others were transferred to a different part of the prison. unquote, where they were photographed with mattresses and better food, photos that appeared to be staged to document improved conditions, unquote. Abrago Garcia is currently in federal custody in Nashville, Tennessee.

To see our coverage of his case, go to Democracy Now.org. In more immigration news, Ward Sakek, a 22-year-old Palestinian woman, has been released from a Texas ice jail after five months in custody. She reunited with her husband who'd been fighting for her freedom. The Trump administration repeatedly attempted to deport her, despite a judge's order, barring her removal from the U.S. Her family is from Gaza. She was born in Saudi Arabia, which does not grant birthright citizenship to the children of immigrants.

Sakek was taken by federal agents in February upon returning from her honeymoon in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In related news, a federal appeals court this week denied the Trump administration's request to re-arrest Georgetown University researcher by our Hansuri and send him back to an ICE jail while his case proceeds. Dr. Hansuri will remain free with his wife and three children in Virginia after he was released in May. To see our coverage of his case, go to Democracy Now.org. Another immigrant has died in ICE custody. Isidra Peders was a 75-year-old immigrant from Cuba. He'd lived in the United States for nearly 60 years.

He was a fisherman who lived on his boat in Miami. He was taken into ICE custody in early June, died less than a month after being jailed at the Chrome Detention Center. His health was fragile, as he had previously survived a heart attack and three catheterizations. His cause of death has not been determined as activists have long decried medical neglect and abuse inside ICE jails. Perez is at least the fifth person to die in ICE custody in Florida this year and the 13th death since the start of the year. Here in New York, hip-hop mogul Sean Diddy Combs is to remain in custody awaiting sentencing

after a jury acquitted him of all but two lesser counts in his sex trafficking federal trial. Combs was convicted Wednesday on two prostitution-related charges. but acquitted of the more serious racketeering and sex trafficking charges. The verdict culminated nearly seven weeks of trial in which two of Combs' former partners testified he brutally physically and sexually assaulted them. This is the attorney for Cassie Ventura, whose 2023 civil lawsuit against Combs helped spur a federal investigation. We're pleased that he's finally been held responsible for two federal. crime, something that he's never faced in his life. He still faces substantial jail time.

Of course, we would have liked to have seen a conviction on the sex crimes in RICO, but we understand beyond a reasonable doubt is a high standard, and we're just pleased that he still faces substantial jail time. Hotel surveillance footage from 2016 released last year showed Combs running after Kessi Ventura violently threatened. throwing her on the ground as she tried to escape. He repeatedly kicked her, then dragged her back to their room. Prosecutors accused Combs of repeatedly assaulting several women,

drugging and coercing women and men to perform sexual acts and being part of a criminal organization that engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and other crimes since at least 2008. Combs faces up to 20 years in prison. Wisconsin Supreme Court has struck down in 1849. law banning abortion making the procedure legal and accessible in Wisconsin for the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. The 4 to 3 ruling by the court's liberal just three months after Elon Musk spent $25 million in an unsuccessful attempt to flip a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat making it the most

expensive judicial election in U.S. history. In a statement, the nonprofit reproductive freedom for all wrote, quote, this victory didn't happen by church. In 2023, we fought to help elect Judge Janet Protisiewicz flipping the balance of the court and protecting our reproductive freedom at a critical time. Organizing works, elections matter, they said. A former FBI agent who allegedly encourage rioters to murder police officers during the January 6th Capitol Insurrection has been given a job at the Justice Department. According to a 23 indictment, the former agent Jared Wise repeatedly shouted kill him at rioters as they battled a police line of officers protecting the Capitol. Wise was on trial in January when

President Trump issued sweeping pardons and commentations for over 1,500 January 6 rioters on his first day back in office. The New York Times reports Wise is now serving as counselor to Ed Martin, the director of the so-called weaponization working group, which Trump established to seek retribution against his enemies. This comes after Attorney General Pam Bondi last week fired three more federal prosecutors who worked on January 6 cases. And President Trump says he's struck a trade agreement with Vietnam that'll see U.S. goods enter the country duty-free. In return, the U.S. will apply a 20 percent tariff on Vietnamese imports down from the 46 percent rate Trump announced in April. The reported deal comes just two weeks after the Trump administration

or the Trump Organization broke ground on a one and a half billion dollar golf course in Vietnam. Meanwhile, Reuters reports, Eric Trump recently visited Ho Chi Minh City to explore plans to build a Trump-branded skyscraper. And those are some of the headlines. This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org, the War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. In a moment, we'll be joined by Mahmoud Khalil in his first live global broadcast. but first we go to break. Dearhood all the year exsendishona,

Deer performing in our Democracy Now studio, the band is removing their songs from Spotify to protest CEO Daniel X military investment saying, we don't want our music killing people. This is Democracy Now. Democracy Now.org, the War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. Officials in Gaza say Israeli attacks have killed over 300 Palestinians over the past 48 hours. One strike on the home of the renowned cardiologist Marwan al-Seltan at Indonesian Hospital

killed a doctor along with his mother's sister and aunt. He's at least the 70th health care worker killed by Israel in the past 50 days. This comes as Palestinians say at least 33 people were slaughtered today as they lined up for aid at militarized aid distribution sites run by the U.S. and Israeli-backed so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The reportedly unprovoked killings came as the Associated Press published recent video showing U.S. contractors at GHF sites firing live ammunition and state. done grenades at starving Palestinians as they scrambled for food. The AP says it received the footage from two U.S. contractors who wished to remain anonymous in order to blow the whistle on abuses. The contractors report security staffers were often unqualified, unvetted, heavily armed,

and seemed to have an open license to do whatever they wished. In this clip, published by the AP, contractors erupt in cheers at shots ring out. At that moment, bursts of gunfire erupt close by, at least 15 shots. This comes as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on pro-Palestinian demonstrators, especially universities across the United States. In a moment, we'll be joined by the first pro-Palestinian campus protesters, to be jailed by the Trump administration, Columbia University graduate

and Palestinian student protest leader, Mahmoud Khalil. Video shows his arrest on March 8th when he was detained by plain-closed officers who did not identify themselves. The video was filmed by his eight-month pregnant wife, Noor Abdullah, whose voice you're hearing in this clip.

Can you please specify what agency is taking him, please? Excuse me. They're not talking to me. I don't know. Excuse me. The lawyer would like to speak to somebody. Oh, my God. They're literally running away from me.

That was March. Mahmood Khalil has now reunited with his wife and newborn son after he was released on bail less than two weeks ago by a federal judge following over 100 days in the Louisiana ICE jail. Khalil spoke outside the jail in Jinnah, Louisiana, when he was freed. No one is illegal. No human is illegal. That's the message.

The message is justice will prevail. No matter what this administration may try to portray. Two weeks ago on Saturday, Democracy Now was at Newark Airport when Mahmoud Khalil was reunited with his wife and his son. I just want to go back and just continue the work that I was already doing, advocating for Palestinian rights, a speech that should actually be celebrated than rather than punished, as this administration wants to do. Mahmoud Khalil was standing next to the New York Congress member,

Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. On Sunday, the following day, the Palestinian student leader, now graduate of Columbia University, stood next to his wife, Noor Abdullah, and addressed over a thousand supporters as well as the press on the Upper West Side outside the Cathedral of St. John the Divine here in Manhattan, blocks from his campus of Columbia University. today. I would like to salute the courage of all students at Columbia and across the nation. These students who continue to protest, I want to honor especially my friends at Columbia University. who are currently battling expulsion and suspension for their consciousness stand. Mahmoud Khalil is a lawful permanent resident, green card holder who has not been charged with any crimes, yet he was held in a Jena, Louisiana, ICE jail for 104 days. This all comes amidst growing calls for Israel to be held accountable for alleged war crimes in Gaza, including attacks on hospitals.

Mahmoud Khalil joins us now for his first live global broadcast since his release. Mahmoud, welcome to Democracy Now. Thanks, Amy. Thanks for having me. So I want to start with the same question I asked you at the airport. How does it feel to be free? I mean, absolutely it goes without saying it feels good just to be reunited with the family and with my baby son. But at the same time, it feels difficult watching the Palestinian people like massacred, being massacred right now in Gaza.

and this really add more responsibility on me to continue advocating for the rights of the Palestinians. And this is what we should focus on right now because my freedom is nothing compared to the suffering that the Palestinian people are going through right now. in Palestine. And this is what the message should be, that whether it's my arrest, whether the focus right now on immigration is just like a distraction of what's really happening in Palestine, that this administration is investing and funding war crimes in Gaza, that this administration is unconditionally supporting Israel. politically or militarily. This is what we should focus on rather than individual cases,

I believe. Mahmoud, I'm wondering if you can take us back to March 8th. That day when you were taken by Homeland Security were federal agents. I don't even know at this point, do you know who it is that you were taken by? And what happened? on that day where you were? Yeah. So the Trump administration basically illegally ripped me away from my family because they are simply trying to silence anyone speaking out against Israel, atrocities against the Palestinians. The officers or the agents who kidnapped me did not introduce themselves.

They said at first it's police, then DHS, without given any details, without even presenting an arrest warrant, which is the most basic thing that any law enforcement should do in a country that proclaims justice and due process, which unfortunately did not happen. So they basically kidnapped me, and for more than 30 hours, kept moving me from one place to another, literally moving me more than 1,400 miles across the country. Can I ask you something? One of the men who abducted you in your Columbia University housing, is it true that he was the Homeland Security agent who was honored by President Trump? Trump in his first term in office, Elvin Hernandez? To be honest, I don't have concrete information about that.

It has been only two weeks since my release. And you didn't know at the time. You didn't know at the time who these men were. So. No, no, I didn't. Like, to be honest, the story that the, the story that the, government presented was once over, one time over another, changed to sort of serve their part of the story. At the beginning, they said, well, we had an arrest warrant and we arrested

Mahmoud outside of Colombia, of his Columbia residence. But then when we presented the video evidence, they said, oh, he tried to flee. So these agents are trained. to lie, are trained to just instigate violence with those who are seeking to detain. So we have played over and over the video of your wife, Dr. Noor Abdullah, on the phone with the lawyer, desperately trying to figure out what was happening and where you were being taken. In fact, can you talk about when you had emailed the president of Columbia University, Dr. Armstrong at the time, because you were so concerned about what was happening to you, you wanted some kind of protection? Yeah. I mean, ICE acts as Trump's militia arm. That's the way. that now they are functioning, and we can see this evident, not only in my case, and just

like cases across the country. And the weeks leading up to my arrest, I noticed a more vicious, coordinated smear campaign against me online, the same accounts mentioning Rubio, the White House, mentioning also like just baseless claims about Mahmoud Khalil who he is like an international students a Hamas agent and and all these all these labels so I felt that since I didn't have any legal at that point representation I wanted like Colombia to first to protect me because these actors are Colombia students where are Colombia students and faculty, the ones who were waging this smear campaign against me online and calling

for the administration to deport me. So this is the minimum that Colombia should have done, is to protect the students against these hostile actors. So, and that was not, I mean, I sent the email the morning of my address, I believe. And this was not the first email that we sent to Colombia and don't answer. Unfortunately, Colombia did not and does not until now treat all students as equal. What they care about is basically money and protecting their brand rather than going and listening to their students, protecting their students, with their legitimate concerns, not to have any special treatment for the Palestinian or the students.

supporting Palestine on campus. I'm wondering if Colombia failed to do that. Did Columbia University support you in any way? I remember in the case of Ramesa Ulsterk, who was the Tufts, Fulbright Scholar and graduate student, also abducted by federal agents. Tufts wrote a statement of support. And then Sudi Khan, Dr. Sudi Khan at Georgetown, Georgetown also spoke out. What about Columbia University on your behalf?

Colombia did not offer any sort of support when it comes to the legal case. And this is shameful on a university that claims to support international students and to support the right of freedom of speech. But this was not surprising. Colombia has capitulated to the Trump administration. But before then, they capitulated to the Zionist donors and politicians in this country. So to see them not offer this kind of support absolutely was not surprising, unfortunately. Can you talk about your time in the Gina Ice Jail?

You were held for over a hundred days there. Can you talk about the other prisoners, the conditions under which you were held? And then I want to get to the day your baby Dean was born without you there. But talk about the jail until that point. So in jail, you spend 24-7 with the same people. So one of the things that we do is to just share stories from people from around the world. And every day it's just a more heartbreaking story than another with people being snatched off the street or during their court hearings or ice check-ins. These people, like, they were trying to fix their documentation.

They committed no crimes whatsoever. So you have this shock with everyone who's coming in around why they are there. I shared a dorm with over 70 men. And the stories are really heartbreaking, Amy, with people leaving their family. outside without any kind of support. People who don't have their rights, don't know their rights, don't know if they have any rights, in fact. And with eyes who basically don't tell anyone what their rights are

and just deport people. I've seen people who unknowingly signed their deportation documents because ICE agents tricked them into doing so, which is a blatant violation of any rule of law or due process. And just like to say that, like, the conditions inside were horrible. The food was horrible, the sleep, quality, equally bad. And just the atmosphere where you are inside, you don't know what's happening and you're just expecting to follow orders and wait for an ICE officer to come and update you on your case.

And fortunately, a lot of these detainees don't have legal representations. And I was very privileged to have an amazing legal team. fighting on my behalf. And that took us three months for me to be released, despite me being a legal resident in the United States. So imagine for a lot of these individuals who don't have this kind of representation and who have, like, more complications in their documentation. Ma'amu, can you talk about the day of Dean's birth, your firstborn son? How did you learn? that Noor had given birth. That days was absolutely one of the most difficult days that I had to endure in my life, being away

from my wife and not having the opportunity to support her during this moment. And I was over the phone, so I would call every hour just to see, like, if Noor is in labor, yeah, or no. And the moment of the delivery, I spent, like, over three hours over the phone, from one, I think, 1.30 in the morning until 4.30, just. trying to support Noor as much as I could because I did not want to miss that moment at all and what made it very difficult is because like this could have been easily avoided where the Trump administration to follow the law or at least like to offer me for law, like to go and be with my family for a few hours. But they refused that because this administration thrives on cruelty and thrives

on separation and family separation. So that was not surprising. And can you talk about the moment when you met Dean for the first time? I mean, as you describe it now, you really were with Nour then. Of course, you were separate, but you were there over the phone. You heard his first cries. But talk about holding him for the first time. I remember, I mean, it was just weeks ago, why it was that your lawyers had to fight,

a battery of lawyers for so many hours for Noor and Dean for you to be able to have a contact visit. I mean, you have not been charged with a crime. But in the jail, is that right where it was in Gina, Louisiana? Yeah. As you said, I mean, it shouldn't take an army of lawyers to get a one-hour contact visit to let me hold my son. The first time I saw my son was, in fact, through glass. so he was literally in front of me separated by glass. I couldn't hold him during the first time I saw him,

which made me very, very angry about like a one centimeter or one inch of glass separating me from holding my son. And this is all by design, the criminal. of this administration because their goal is to punish me as much as they could and in any way that

they find because what they want is they want to break me. They want to make an example out of me. So the first time when

we managed to get a court order in fact, imagine getting a court order to force ice to let me hold my my son and we had it for literally an hour seven in the morning

so even when they agreed to do that or not agreed, even when they were forced to allow me to hold my son they chose to make it at seven in the morning in detention

So, I mean, the feeling I don't think I can describe it, I was both very happy, but at the same time, very angry and sad, that it took us all this effort to have this one hour in detention. And basically, I was really anxious. I was just looking at the clock when this hour would end. And I just didn't want this hour to end. And the hour was the fastest hour in my life, just like, you know, like, went like this. And so, yeah, maybe. You were released less than two weeks ago. And now you are living at home with your wife and your infant son.

Do you feel safe? I don't fully feel safe, to be honest, Amy. We all know the rhetoric that's currently going around in this country, the Islamophobia, the anti-Palestinian bigotry and racism. And this violence that was exported by Israel to this country, and being targeted by Israeli government-affiliated groups here in the U.S., who are very dangerous, who would do anything to silence Palestinians. Because for them, silencing, it's much more easier than dealing with the argument. because they have no argument about what they are doing in Palestine. And this is why they want to shut down the conversation anyway they can do,

even if this would mean hurting or harming me and my family. And it's a huge concern. But it's a price that I need to accept for advocating, the right of the Palestinian people. Because once again, this is always a distraction from the genocide in Palestine. And these attempts to silence me are just one way for them to attack us to attack us. and to cut, just not to let the public know about what Israel is doing and how the U.S. is complicit in this genocide. Mahmoud Khalil, you led a march from the steps of St. John the Divine up to Columbia University,

wearing a Palestinian flag as a kind of cape with a thousand supporters there. and you were one of the leaders of the encampment at Columbia that led to so many protests and encampments around the country on university campuses. Many of the protesters were Jewish. Many of the supporters for you who would march when you were detained were Jewish. I was wondering, what did that level of Jewish support mean to you here in the United States? First of all, just the correction, the student movement that Colombia doesn't have leaders.

I believe all the students equally contribute to the movement. And it's being mobilized by a large number of students, hundreds of students at Columbia University. But going back to your question, Amy, I mean, Jewish students are an integral part of the student movement, whether at Colombia or in the United States. And this is very important because these Jewish students, they show the word that what Israel is doing is not in their name, it's not in the name of Jewish safety, which is very important. And these also Jewish students are acting upon their values.

of protecting the weak or supporting justice. So it's really, to us, it's very important. This shows that the Palestinian cause goes beyond Palestinians, Arabs, or Muslims. It's a universal cause for justice, for freedom, and for human rights. And finally, Mahmoud, as you are free now here in New York, you still face deportation? I do. I mean, now I'm out on bail, which means that the court proceedings can continue while I am out. So I'm still facing deportation. However, a federal judge ruled that the Rubio determination on what Rubio did to me is likely and constitutional. And that's why he ordered my release on bail.

So I'm confident that we will prevail in court that this administration attempts to silence us wouldn't succeed. And now that I will seek accountability, I will seek accountability from this administration, from the individuals and actors who contributed to my arrest, and now exploring these options with my lawyer. Because in the first place, I was protesting for accountability to held Colombia and the U.S. government accountable for their complicity. in war crimes and genocide against the Palestinians. And I will continue to do so, because what happened to me shouldn't have happened in the first place. I shouldn't have been prosecuted simply for my freedom of speech, simply for speaking up for Palestinian rights.

And those who have contributed to that in any way should be held accountable. Mahmoud Khalil, thanks so much for joining us, Columbia University graduate Palestinian student activists detained by ICE March 8th and held for 104 days at the ICE jail in Gina, Louisiana. During that time, his wife, Dr. Nur Abdullah, gave birth to their first child, Dean. Mahmoud was released June 20th. You can see him coming to Newark Airport and the next day's event in front of St. John the Divine with a thousand people greeting. him at DemocracyNow.org, as well as our interview with Mosan Madawi, who also graduated from Columbia University after being jailed in Vermont for several weeks. You can go to DemocracyNow.org.

When we come back, we'll be joined by Congressmember Rokana as the House continues to debate President Trump's budget bill. Stay with us. Yesterday I saw you standing there with your hand against the pain looking out the window at the rain at the rain and I wanted to tell you all Your tears were not in vain, but I guess we both knew. Peaceable Kingdom by Patty Smith, performing at Democracy Now's 20th anniversary next year, we celebrate our 30th. This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org. I'm Amy Goodman.

We go right now to Capitol Hill. Republican leaders have, well, appear to have convinced enough far-right holdouts to win passage of President Trump's budget bill, the sweeping package of tax cuts for the wealthy, deep cuts to social programs, including Medicaid and SNAP food assistance, and massive amounts of new funding for immigration, enforcement, and detention. The Congressional Budget Office says the bill will add $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates some 17 million people could lose health insurance over the next decade as well. if the bill is approved. For more, we go to Rokana, Democratic Congressmember from Silicon Valley, from California,

vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Congress member, thanks so much for joining us, to say the least, as we broadcast, this is a very tense moment on Capitol Hill and around the country. Tell us what's happening. Unfortunately, it looks like the Republicans will cave to Donald Trump's wishes again. This bill is likely to pass in the next day. hour or so. It is unprecedented in that it takes literally from the working poor. It makes people in the country who are in the bottom 30% working hard to pay their bills poorer because it's

stripping away health care from them, stripping away food assistance from them. And it is all in the name of giving tax breaks to the wealthiest. The top 60% in this country benefit. The top 20% in this country gets 60% of the benefits. So on the one hand, you have this massive cut for Medicaid, what, 17 million people it's estimated up to, could lose their Medicaid, and you have this massive increase in ICE funding. With President Trump, as you were all dealing with this on Capitol Hill, goes to what he calls alligator Alcatraz to inaugurate the building of a new ICE jail, what the, Florida governor called a one-stop shop, a jail of leading up to 5,000 beds on an airstrip so people can be first detained and then deported. Well, you have not only the massive increase in funding for border security without any

consideration of human rights. And you just had Mr. Khalil on, which was a case of the violation of human rights, but it's also a violation of many Americans' rights. I mean, Americans now are afraid of who they can befriend or who they can love. They're afraid of giving a coworker who may not have the right status, a loan, or assistance. They're afraid of going out and protesting if in their groups they may have people who are immigrants. We are creating in this country control over people, and that's impacting not just the rights of immigrants. It's impacting our freedoms as Americans? Notice the news organization is reporting that President Trump met with Republicans

yesterday and told them, I've told you, there are three things you can't cut Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. And apparently one of the Congress members said, but you are cutting Medicaid. What is going on here? And this latest news we're getting as this debate goes forward, that he's saying he can fix things by executive order. Well, he's hoping that he can, through rhetoric, just deceive people. The reality, as you pointed out, is 17 million people are going to be cut off health insurance.

This cuts almost a trillion dollars from Medicaid. It stops states from charging a provider tax, which helps them fund rural hospitals that the federal government reimburses. It caps the amount they can do that. Everyone knows that's going to hurt rural hospitals. health care services. It puts a huge amount of paperwork for people who want Medicaid. And we all know from the Arkansas experience that's going to mean less people on Medicaid. So it is making massive cuts, unprecedented cuts like we've not seen since 1965. And the president hopes he can just go out there and say that, well, it doesn't cut Medicaid and they've delayed some of the

cuts in the bill to not happen before the midterm elections. But our task is to get the facts out there, to the American people, that these are the most devastating cuts, all to finance tax breaks for the billionaires. The reality is 60% of the tax breaks in this bill go to people over $220,000. And Amy, one thing to understand this is so much worse than either the previous George Bush tax cuts or the Trump tax cuts, because those tax cuts were skewed towards the wealthy, but they didn't take away from the working. class. This is making the working class worse off and enriching the richest in our society. What do you say to Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska who said this is not a good bill for Americans,

but she got what she needed for the people of Alaska? What about these deals that are being cut, both for senators and for Congress members, House members? Well, it really goes to how you view your role as a member of Congress or a senator. If I were to view my role as I only am going to vote for everything that would benefit Silicon Valley, well, I should be lined up probably the first person to support this bill because the billionaires in my district are going to do very well. The trillion-dollar corporations are going to do very well. But my view is that I'm not there to just represent the corporations in my district. I'm right there to represent the working in middle class in my district, but I'm there to think about what's going to be good for America.

And the reality is the central issue for America as we can't be a nation, half prosperous and half in decline and in despair. And so I'm afraid that Lisa Murkowski views her role through parochial interests. And that's how they've gotten some of these holdout senators and some of these holdout members of Congress. But it is a betrayal of people, and it's why the trust in government is so low. So some are saying the silver lining for Democrats is it could win them in midterm elections, but many are asking, what do the Democrats offer? You have here in New York, the state assemblyman, Zoran Mamdani, who has defied all the odds, had 1% name recognition, has now won the Democratic primary against the stalwart, Governor Andrew Cuomo. And the significance of what he represented, as he talked about sustainability, free bus,

child care, as he talked about what it means to afford to live in the United States. In our case, in New York City. What does he represent to the rest of the country, Congressman Kana, to your colleagues in the House? He represents grassroots activism. He represents seeing people who have been unseen, who are struggling, who have economic discontent. He represents building a coalition around issues of affordability. And the Democratic Party would be wise to have a bold platform going into 2026. That means taxing the wealthy, taxing the billionaires in my district.

It means child care, $10 a day. It means Medicare for all. It means a real plan to create good jobs in this country, especially when you have AI displacing entry-level jobs. It means 1,000 trade schools and free public college. We need to address the affordability crisis. We need to address the crisis. of a lack of good-paying jobs in America, and I call it a new economic patriotism, but the point is that Democrats need a bold economic vision.

That, to me, is the biggest lesson of Mamdani. And I think these people who are attacking Mamdani gratuitously are doing so because they fear a new generation that is more in touch with the economic struggles of people that wants a bolder vision for the party, and frankly, they need to step aside to allow for a new generation. And what do you say to President Trump, who has threatened to arrest and deport the U.S. citizen, Zoran Mamdani? It's just so un-American. I mean, you know, the remarkable part of America is New York can produce Zoran, Mamdani, Alexander Ocasio-Cortez, and Donald Trump. And as different as they are, we usually celebrate in this case.

country, the extraordinary multiracial democracy we are. And when Trump is threatened in any way for him to lash out at people, just undermines what this country stands for. And I was so disappointed. You know, I have to mention this. There was a colleague of mine who criticized Mamdani as uncivilized because he ate food with his hands. Now, of course, we ate pizza with our hands and hamburgers with our hands. But that reminded me of the British criticism of Gandhi and Indians and my grandfather, who was fought in India's independence movement, as being uncivilized because of the way they ate. You know, it was America that actually helped India defeat colonialism, and it's sad to see echoes of colonial rhetoric here in the halls of the United States Congress.

Congress member Rokana, we thank you so much for being with us. Tune in to our July 4th special. I'm Amy Goodman.