A Louisiana immigration judge ruled on Friday, April 11th, that Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate student, can be deported. The decision follows claims from the Trump administration that Khalil’s actions threatened U.S. foreign policy.
Khalil, a lawful permanent resident with a green card, was detained in March after being arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at his Columbia housing. Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued in a memo submitted to the court that Khalil’s involvement in pro-Palestinian protests, which Rubio described as “antisemitic,” created a hostile environment for Jewish students and undermined U.S. foreign policy goals.
Judge Jamee Comans ruled that Khalil’s deportation could proceed based on Rubio’s memo, which claimed Khalil’s presence in the U.S. posed an adverse impact on foreign policy. Khalil’s legal team presented evidence countering the government’s claims, including interviews where Khalil denounced antisemitism, but the judge did not address this evidence. Instead, she emphasized the authority granted to the Secretary of State under federal law.
Khalil, who is married to a U.S. citizen and expecting a child, expressed his dissatisfaction with the process after the hearing. He reminded the court of previous comments about the importance of due process, saying, “Clearly what we witnessed today, neither of these principles were present today or in this whole process.”
Khalil’s attorneys are planning to appeal the ruling and are seeking a stay of deportation. They argue that the decision is part of a broader effort to suppress free speech, with Marc Van Der Hout, one of Khalil’s attorneys, saying, “If Mahmoud can be targeted in this way, simply for speaking out for Palestinians and exercising his constitutionally protected right to free speech, this can happen to anyone over any issue the Trump administration dislikes.”
The ruling follows a more significant debate about the intersection of immigration law and political dissent. Khalil remains detained at the Jena/LaSalle Detention Facility, and his attorneys have until April 23rd to file a request to halt his deportation. If no request is made, Khalil could be deported to Syria or Algeria.
