Louisiana immigration judge rules that activist Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, who initiated anti-Israel protests on campus, can be deported, despite ongoing legal efforts by his lawyers. His legal team vows to continue fighting, with a federal case challenging his detention on free speech grounds.
An immigration judge in Louisiana issued a ruling on Friday allowing the deportation of former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, who organized anti-Israel protests on campus.
Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Jamee Comans granted Khalil’s legal team until April 23 to request a waiver, as stated in a press release following the hearing quoted by The New York Daily Times.
At the close of the hearing, Khalil spoke directly to the court, quoting a prior statement from the judge.
“I would like to quote what you said last time that there’s nothing that’s more important to this court than due process rights and fundamental fairness,” Khalil remarked. “Clearly what we witnessed today, neither of these principles were present today or in this whole process,” he added, according to his legal representatives.
Before the ruling, Khalil’s attorneys had emphasized their commitment to continuing the fight to prevent his deportation, regardless of the judge’s decision.
Johnny Sinodis, one of Khalil’s attorneys, stated at a press briefing on Thursday, “We are far from the end of the road if that happens.” He clarified that the case would enter the “relief stage” of removal proceedings, which would involve further hearings before a final decision.
Ahead of Friday’s hearing, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio submitted a memo that did not present any allegations of criminal activity against Khalil. Instead, it argued that the Trump administration has the legal authority to deport individuals based on their political beliefs. The memo was brief, spanning just two pages.
Khalil was detained at his Columbia apartment on March 8. He was informed that the reason for his deportation was his involvement in protests against the Gaza conflict and Columbia University’s investments related to Israel. The following day, he was transported to a detention center over 1,000 miles away in Jena, Louisiana.
The government accuses Khalil of failing to disclose on his residency application what it described as his “membership” in the United Nations’ Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA. The Trump administration’s rationale for the deportation is based on a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which permits deportation if an individual’s presence could harm US foreign policy. The government has claimed Khalil’s pro-Palestinian Arab advocacy could potentially pose such a risk.
In a recent letter written from detention, Khalil rejected the allegations and framed his detention as retaliation for his political views. “This is a direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza,” he wrote.
