An immigration judge decided on Friday that Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil could be deported on the grounds that he threatened foreign policy, as alleged by the Trump government.
This amazing step may have an impact on hundreds of other international students that have been targeted by administration.
Judge Louisiana has given Khalil’s lawyer deadline April 23 to submit an application for assistance to stop deportation. The judge said that if they failed to make a deadline when he would submit an order to remove to Syria or Algeria.
Mahmoud Khalil spoke to media members about the rebellion for the rafah camp at Columbia University during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas in Gaza, in New York, June 1, 2024.
Jeenah Moon/Reuters, File
The verdict surprised supporters in the court as a judge issued him. Some supporters in the court building began to cry when he agreed with the government’s statement that they did not have to provide evidence other than for the main claim of administration to Khalil.
Khalil, a green card holder and a permanent resident of law who married an American citizen, spoke to the court after the trial was postponed and talked to the judge directly, referring to the previous comments he made about the legal process and “fundamental justice.”
“I want to quote what you said last time that there is nothing more important to this court besides the rights of legal proceedings and basic justice. Obviously what we witnessed today, none of these principles are present today or in this whole process. This is precisely why Trump’s administration has sent me to this court, to the people here.
Judge Jamee Coman’s decision to remove Khalil in accordance with the statement of State Secretary Marco Marco Rubio that his sustainable presence and actions in the country are “consequences of adverse foreign policy.”
One of Khalil’s supporters read the statement from Khalil’s wife, Noor Abdalla, after the verdict, called him “a destroying blow for our family.”
“Nobody is considered to be removed from their homes because they speak against the murder of family, doctors and Palestinian journalists,” Abdalla’s statement said. “Today, in court, the government reiterates the same same racist claims about my husband that we have heard repeatedly, efforts to smear those who call to end Israel’s brutal genocide in Gaza. My husband is a political prisoner who lost his rights because he believes Palestine deserves dignity and freedom.
He continued, “There is nothing to say the government about my husband who can silence this truth. This decision is a charge of the immigration system of our country and does not reflect the truth, justice or the will of the American people.”
The view of the Central Louisiana ice processing center where Mahmoud Khalil was detained, because of the Immigration Court Regulations in the Columbia University Student Deportation Case and Palestinian Activists in Jena, LA., April 11, 2025.
Kathleen Flynn/Reuters
In blisters statement posted to xThe Secretary of the Department of Domestic Security said the decision that Kahlil could be removed from the US must come as “Welcome News,” writing, is a privilege to be given a visa or green card to live and study in the United States. ” He ended the statement with “Good Riddance.”
The deportation trial is played as a federal court case in New Jersey remains active. A judge in the case had decided that Khalil could not be deported when the trial was underway.
“Today, we see our worst fear occur: Mahmoud is subject to a legal process, a striking violation of his rights for a fair trial, and immigration legal weapons to suppress differences of opinion. This is not over, and our battle continues,” Marc Van Der Hout, a lawyer for Khalil, said in a statement on Friday. “If Mahmoud can be targeted in this way, only to speak for Palestinians and use their constitutional protected rights for freedom of speech, this can happen to anyone on any problem that Trump’s administration is disliked. We will continue to work tirelessly until Mahmoud is free and with the right to return to his home and community.”
The Immigration Court has several limits on discovery and power to call witnesses, as mentioned by the judge several times on Friday.
The judge gave the government to the deadline earlier this week to provide evidence to support some of the accusations made to Khalil as an excuse to deport them from the US, including that he misinterpreted information about the Green Card application.
Although the Khalil team provided evidence that was contrary to the administrative narratives about their clients, including interviews in which he condemned antisemitism, the judge did not decide on the rebuttal or information and vice versa agreed that he did not need to go further from Rubio’s two -page memos written and submitted to court this week.
“Today’s verdict is in a hurry to judge an unfounded accusation that the government does not provide evidence to be proven because there is no evidence. Our client, Mr. Khalil, has been arrested illegally in direct retaliation of advocacy in supporting Palestinian rights,” said Amol Sinha, Executive Director of ACLU-JJ, who also represented Khalil. “This transfer finding is a dangerous departure from the fundamental freedom on the foundation of our nation which protects freedom of speech under the first amendment. We will continue to advocate for the legal release of Khalil, and we are sure he will win.”
While a student at Columbia University, Khalil is part of the leadership group that protested the war in Gaza. Khalil took part in the negotiations with the school administrator who demanded the institution to decide on relations with Israel and release from Israeli companies. Khalil completed a postgraduate study in Columbia in December and will graduate in spring.
Khalil – whose wife will give birth to her first child – arrested with immigration and customary enforcement in Columbia Housing in March.
The government on Thursday submitted evidence that the memo signed by Rubio who said that he found the presence of Khalil in the US “will endanger the interests of an interesting US foreign policy.”
State Secretary Marco Rubio attended a cabinet meeting at the White House, April 10, 2025.
Nathan Howard/Reuters
The lawyer for Khalil argues in a press conference on Thursday that the government – who included letters and other documents is evidence of Wednesday – does not present evidence that the presence of Khalil in the US is a consequence of adverse foreign policy.
The government is of the opinion that under the 1952 federal law which is not clearly called the Immigration and National Law, that they believe that migrants can be deported “If the State Secretary has a reasonable basis to believe that the presence or alien activities in the United States will have the potential to harm the consequences of foreign policy that is detrimental to the United States.”
The lawyer for Khalil argues that the determination is a judge to make, after the government presents evidence.
The memo signed by Rubio also made the case that other people, whose names were deleted, must be deported based on the same law.
Rubio wrote that Khalil had to be deported because of his alleged role in “antisemite protests and disturbing activities, which pushed hostile environments for Jewish students in the United States.”
Marc Van Der Hout, one of Khalil’s lawyers, sharply criticized the memo during the Zoom press conference on Thursday.
Rubio “talked about the first amendment activity in the United States and its influence on people in the US ‘determination’ had absolutely nothing to do with foreign policy,” said Van Der Hout.
Lawyer Khalil said the government did not provide evidence of the alleged information that Khalil interpreted in the Green Card application.