Immigration Judge Rules Columbia Activist Mahmoud Khalil Can Be Deported
An immigration judge has ruled that Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported following his involvement in anti-Israel protests on campus last year.
Khalil, a lawful permanent resident with a green card, was detained last month and is currently being held at a detention center in Louisiana. Secretary of State Marco Rubio concluded that Khalil’s actions were antisemitic and he should be deported under the Trump administration’s policy to deport those who engage in antisemitic or pro-terrorist activism.
Judge Jamee Comans, presiding over the case, said during a hearing that she had no authority to challenge the secretary of state’s determination. Following the ruling, Khalil told 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. Clearly what we witnessed today, neither of these principles were present today or in this whole process.”
“This is exactly why the Trump administration has sent me to this court, 1,000 miles away from my family,” he added. “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’s attorneys say they plan to appeal the judge’s decision. The court has given them until April 23 to request a stay of deportation. If the deadline is not met, Khalil will be deported either to his birth country of Syria, or Algeria where he is a citizen.
“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,” one of Khalil’s attorneys said.
Rubio’s decision to pursue deportation relied on a Cold War-era federal statute from the 1950s, which grants the secretary of state the authority to deport noncitizens deemed to pose a threat to US foreign policy interests.
According to NBC News, Rubio said in a memo that while Khalil’s “past, current or expected beliefs, statements, or associations that are otherwise lawful,” the provision allows the secretary of state to “personally determine” if he should be permitted to remain in the country.
“The foreign policy of the United States champions core American interests and American citizens and condoning anti-Semitic conduct and disruptive protests in the United States would severely undermine that significant foreign policy objective,” Rubio wrote.
