AhlulBayt News Agency: Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and green card holder, can legally be deported from the United States, an immigration judge has ruled during a contentious hearing at a remote Louisiana court.
In a decision handed down on Friday, the judge sided with the Trump administration, which argued that a brief memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio—alleging Khalil’s “current or expected beliefs, statements or associations” conflicted with US foreign policy—provided sufficient grounds to expel a lawful permanent resident.
Khalil’s attorneys fought unsuccessfully to delay the ruling and have the case dismissed, challenging the broad claims in Rubio’s memo and insisting they should have the right to cross-examine him directly.
Throughout the proceedings, Khalil clutched prayer beads as three Department of Homeland Security (DHS) attorneys presented their case for his removal.
Judge Jamee Comans stated that Rubio’s declaration constituted “presumptive and sufficient evidence,” and noted that she lacked authority to address First Amendment concerns.
“There is no indication that Congress contemplated an immigration judge or even the attorney general overruling the secretary of state on matters of foreign policy,” Comans said.
After the ruling, Khalil, who had remained silent until then, asked to address the court.
Speaking directly to the judge, he said, “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.’”
He added, “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."
Khalil’s arrest was part of a broader clampdown by the Trump administration, which soon after revoked over 300 student visas for international scholars at American universities.
Now 30, Khalil had been active in student advocacy at Columbia before his arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in New York on March 8.
He was later transferred to a detention center in Jena, Louisiana, where he has been held for more than a month.
His case marked the beginning of a wave of ICE arrests targeting pro-Palestinian students and academics with visas or permanent residency.
The ruling ensures that his deportation case will proceed in Jena, even as a separate lawsuit in New Jersey challenges the legality of his detention and the government’s authority to deport individuals over First Amendment-protected speech considered contrary to US foreign policy.
Khalil’s attorneys have petitioned the New Jersey court to release him on bail so he can be with his wife, who is expecting their first child this month.
His legal team condemned the ruling, suggesting the outcome had been predetermined. “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,” said Marc van der Hout, Khalil’s immigration lawyer.
“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. We will continue working tirelessly until Mahmoud is free and rightfully returned home to his family and community.”
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