Mahmoud Khalil: Court Rules Palestinian Student Activist Faces Deportation from the US | US News
An immigration judge has determined that Palestinian student activist Mahmoud Khalil may be deported from the United States.
Mr. Khalil, currently a postgraduate student at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, has been a notable advocate in the university’s pro-Palestinian protest movement.
At 30 years old, he has held a US permanent residency green card since 2024, and his wife is an American citizen.
On March 8, Mr. Khalil was apprehended at his apartment building in Manhattan when agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) informed him that his student visa had been revoked.
This incident represented the initial arrest during President Donald Trump’s crackdown on students participating in campus protests against the conflict in Gaza.
Mr. Khalil has served as a mediator between protesters and university administrators during pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University in New York last year, but he is not charged with any legal violations.
Khalil, center, surrounded by reporters outside Columbia University campus in April last year. Pic: AP
However, the Trump administration asserts that noncitizens who participate in events like his should face expulsion for expressing views deemed anti-Semitic and “pro-Hamas.”
On Friday, immigration judge Jamee E. Comans stated that the government had the authority to deport him, citing their belief that his presence could “potentially prompt serious foreign policy ramifications,” which met the criteria for his deportation.
The judge indicated that the government had “established by clear and convincing evidence that he is removable.”
Mr. Khalil’s legal team has announced intentions to contest the ruling through the Board of Immigration Appeals and may also seek asylum on his behalf.
The judge granted them time until April 23 to pursue a waiver.
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Following the ruling, Mr. Khalil’s attorney, Marc van der Hout, remarked: “Today, our worst fears became reality: Mahmoud faced a farce of due process, a blatant breach of his right to a fair hearing, and immigration law was weaponized to silence dissent.”
Originally from a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, Mr. Khalil holds Algerian citizenship and continues to be held in a Louisiana immigration detention facility where he was transferred after his arrest.
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Jewish protesters against the war in Gaza chant ‘Bring Mahmoud home now’
His defense team aims to obtain a preliminary injunction from the federal court in New Jersey that would release him from detention and could prevent the Trump administration from arresting and detaining individuals who support the Palestinian cause in Gaza.
The Trump administration has intensified its actions against pro-Palestinian demonstrators at universities nationwide.
In the aftermath of Mr. Khalil’s arrest last month, the president stated: “This marks the first of many arrests to come. We are aware that there are additional students at Columbia and other universities nationwide involved in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, and anti-American activities, and the Trump administration will not stand for this.”
Protests have erupted in response to Mr. Khalil’s arrest, including actions by a Jewish group against the war in Gaza, who stormed Trump Tower in New York last month.
According to local law enforcement, 98 individuals were arrested on various charges, including trespassing, obstruction, and resisting arrest.
