An immigration judge in the US has ordered the deportation of pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil to either Algeria or Syria, over claims he omitted information from a green card application.
Judge Jamee Comans, based in Louisiana, stated that Mr. Khalil wilfully misrepresented material fact(s) for the sole purpose of circumventing the immigration process.
In a statement to the American Civil Liberties Union, Mr. Khalil expressed: It is no surprise that the Trump administration continues to retaliate against me for my exercise of free speech.
Khalil, a permanent US resident of Palestinian heritage, was a significant figure during the 2024 Gaza war protests held at Columbia University, where he was studying.
Mr. Khalil's legal representatives announced plans to appeal the judge's ruling, noting that prior federal court orders prohibit the government from deporting or detaining him.
In March, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained Mr. Khalil as part of the Trump administration's efforts targeting universities they claim have not adequately addressed antisemitism.
Held in an immigration facility in Louisiana for three months, Mr. Khalil was released after a federal judge deemed him neither a flight risk nor a threat to the community on June 20.
During his detention, his wife, a US citizen, gave birth to their son.
The government accused him of leaving out details of his previous associations from immigration documentation, which included membership with Unwra – the UN agency focused on Palestinian issues – and purported ongoing employment at the British Embassy in Beirut.
Responding to the ruling, Mr. Khalil emphasized, When their first effort to deport me was set to fail, they resorted to fabricating baseless and ridiculous allegations in a bid to silence me for speaking out and standing firmly with Palestine, demanding an end to the ongoing genocide.
Moreover, Mr. Khalil's lawyers filed a claim for $20 million in damages alleging false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, and defamation regarding accusations of antisemitism.
President Trump has continuously alleged that pro-Palestinian activists like Mr. Khalil are supporters of Hamas, a group classified as a terrorist organization by the US. Trump contends that the deportation of such protesters is justified and has described Mr. Khalil's arrest as the first of many to come.
Mahmoud Khalil's involvement in Columbia's protests brought him into the limelight. He engaged in negotiations between university officials and protestors, advocating for their points of view.
Opponents of Khalil accuse him of leading the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (Cuad), a student group pushing for divestment from financial ties with Israel and advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza. Khalil refutes these claims, stating he merely acted as a spokesperson for the protestors and mediated discussions with university officials.
