An immigration judge ruled on Friday that Mahmoud Khalil could be expelled from the United States because of his participation in anti-Israel demonstrations at Columbia University. The decision, delivered by Judge Jamee Comans in a Louisiana courtroom, was part of a broader federal push to remove Khalil, a Syrian-born U.S. permanent resident, due to his activism.
Judge Comans declared that the federal government had “established by clear and convincing evidence that [Khalil] is removable,” following a hearing that lasted about two hours.
At the conclusion of the session, Khalil addressed the judge directly, asserting she had failed to uphold the fairness she had previously emphasized during an earlier hearing that week. “Clearly what we witnessed today, neither of these principles were present today or in this whole process,” Khalil claimed. “This is exactly why the Trump administration has sent me to this court, 1,000 miles away from my family,” he said. “I just hope that the urgency that you deemed fit for me are afforded to the hundreds of others who have been here without hearing for months.”
Though the judge ruled Khalil can be deported, the decision doesn’t take immediate effect. His legal team still has the opportunity to appeal and continue contesting the removal order before it is finalized.
Khalil, 30, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on March 8 at his subsidized campus apartment in Manhattan, where he was living with his pregnant American wife.
His detention followed a Trump administration directive targeting anti-Israel demonstrators on college campuses.
Just one day later, Khalil was transported over 1,000 miles to a detention center in Jena, Louisiana, leaving his wife behind in New York.
His attorneys have challenged his arrest both in immigration court and by filing a habeas corpus petition in federal court in New Jersey. They argue the government violated his constitutional right to free expression by detaining him in response to his pro-Palestinian advocacy.
The Department of Homeland Security and ICE justified the arrest using a little-known statute that empowers the Secretary of State to deport a noncitizen deemed a risk to U.S. foreign relations.
At Tuesday’s initial court appearance, Judge Comans directed government attorneys to present documentation supporting their deportation effort, reserving her ruling until Friday’s hearing.
By Wednesday, the government had submitted a short memorandum from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which accused Khalil of engaging “in antisemitic protests and disruptive activities, which fosters a hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States.”
Rubio’s letter asserted that Khalil’s presence clashed with “U.S. policy to combat antisemitism around the world and in the United States, in addition to efforts to protect Jewish students from harassment and violence in the United States.”
The memo further cited legal authority granted to the Trump administration to expel foreign nationals whose presence is deemed detrimental to U.S. diplomatic priorities.
Following the ruling, Khalil’s attorney, Marc van der Hout, issued a statement condemning the court process: “Today, we saw our worst fears play out: Mahmoud was subject to a charade of due process, a flagrant violation of his right to a fair hearing, and a weaponization of immigration law to suppress dissent. This is not over, and our fight continues.”
Meanwhile, Khalil’s legal team is also pinning its hopes on the federal court in New Jersey, where Judge Michael Farbiarz has already paused the deportation order pending further proceedings.
Farbiarz also instructed both parties to participate in a status call Friday afternoon to update him on the outcome of the immigration hearing.
Originally from Syria and also an Algerian citizen, Khalil is a former employee of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees. He came to the U.S. in 2022 to begin his studies at Columbia.
While at Columbia, Khalil led Columbia United Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a coalition of student activist groups known for backing extremist positions, including support for Hamas and Hezbollah, and advocating for the “end of Western civilization.”
He also served as the primary representative in talks with Columbia’s leadership during protest encampments held on campus last year.
At a press briefing on Thursday, van der Hout argued that the government’s move had nothing to do with actual foreign policy considerations, stating that Rubio’s “determination has absolutely nothing to do with foreign policy.”
The attorney insisted that the evidence presented against Khalil was weak and that his client was being targeted purely for exercising political speech.
{Matzav.com}