Mahmoud Khalil can be deported over his involvement in anti-Israel demonstrations at Columbia University, an immigration judge ruled Friday in the closely watched case.
The ruling in Louisiana immigration court came in the government’s bid to boot the Syrian-born permanent resident out of the US over his anti-Israel activism at Columbia.
Judge Jamee Comans said during the two-hour hearing Friday that the feds had “established by clear and convincing evidence that [Khalil] is removable.”
Khalil asked to speak to Comans at the end of the hearing, according to his lawyers, arguing she had not given him “the due process and fundamental fairness” she said were so important at a prior hearing Tuesday.
“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.”
Khalil won’t be deported immediately — his lawyers will get the chance to fight the proceedings before a final determination is made.
Khalil, 30, was arrested on March 8 by ICE agents inside the building of his university-funded Manhattan apartment where he lived with his pregnant wife, an American citizen.
His arrest was the result of a crackdown by the Trump administration on anti-Israel protesters at university campuses.
Khalil was transferred a day after his arrest to a lockup in Jena, Louisiana, over a thousand miles away from his expectant wife.
His lawyers have been fighting the arrest both in immigration court and in New Jersey federal court where they filed a habeas corpus petition for his release on the grounds the arrest violated his First Amendment right to free speech, since the government allegedly targeted him for his anti-Israel activities.
ICE and the Department of Homeland Security invoked an obscure law that allows a Secretary of State to deport noncitizens who potentially threaten US foreign policy.
At the first hearing in Khalil’s immigration case Tuesday, Comans ordered the feds to provide her evidence supporting their bid to deport Khalil so she could make her decision at the Friday hearing.
On Wednesday, the government filed a two-page memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio arguing Khalil should be kicked out because of his participation “in antisemitic protests and disruptive activities, which fosters a hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States.”
Rubio’s memo said Khalil’s presence in the country undermines “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.”
It also cited the Trump administration’s authority to deport noncitizens whose presence in the country hurts US foreign policy interests.
Khalil’s lawyer, Marc van der Hout, said in a statement: “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.”
Khalil’s team was hopeful that its New Jersey federal suit could offer recourse. The judge in that case, Michael Farbiarz, has already decided to block Khalil’s deportation while the case plays out.
Farbiarz also ordered Khalil and the feds to report for a phone conference Friday afternoon to inform him of what took place in the immigration court.
Khalil, a Syrian-born Palestinian who is also a citizen of Algeria, once worked for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.
He moved to the US in 2022 to enroll at Columbia, where he led Columbia United Apartheid Divest (CUAD) — an umbrella of radical student organizations that sympathizes with terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah and has previously called for the “end of Western civilization.”
Khalil was the main negotiator between CUAD and Columbia administrators during the encampment protests last year.
Van Der Hout said at a Thursday press conference that Rubio’s “determination has absolutely nothing to do with foreign policy.”
Van der Hout claimed the feds showed how little evidence they actually had against Khalil and said they were simply targeting him for his beliefs, which are protected free speech.
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