On April 2nd, Jewish students at Columbia University chained themselves to the gates of the university to demand Khalil's release.Michael Nigro/Pacific Press via ZUMA Press Wire
A Louisiana immigration judge ruled Friday that recent Columbia graduate and Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported—even though Khalil has a green card, is a lawful permanent resident, and has not been charged with any crimes.
The judge gave Khalil’s attorneys until April 23 to ask for a stay of the deportation. There is a separate case in federal court in New Jersey still ongoing over whether Khalil’s arrest on March 8th violated his First Amendment rights.
The rationale for deporting Khalil is obscure. Secretary of State Marco Rubio submitted a two-page letter arguing, essentially, that Khalil is deportable on the basis of ideas: his “past, current, or expected beliefs,” though “otherwise lawful,” nonetheless make his presence a threat to US foreign policy. Rubio relied on a little-known law that says the Secretary of State can personally determine whether a noncitizen’s presence in the US harms national security goals.
The US, following the Trump administration’s executive order on antisemitism, has said Khalil—and other pro-Palestine activists—are harming the US goal of combatting antisemitism. Immigration judge Jamee Coman said she has no authority to question the Secretary of State.
In Rubio’s letter to the court, released by the Associated Press on Thursday, he asserts that Khalil’s alleged beliefs mean his continued in the country “would compromise a compelling US foreign policy interest.”
Rubio’s letter also directly accuses Khalil, who was a negotiator for the student activist of Columbia University’s pro-Palestine encampment in spring 2024, of participation in “antisemitic protests and disruptive activities, which fosters a hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States.” (Khalil’s friends and supporters, many of whom are Jewish Columbia students, argue that this account is entirely false.)
Khalil has been detained in Jena, Louisiana for over a month. His wife, who is eight months pregnant in New York City, said Khalil will likely miss the birth of his first child.
Khalil’s legal fight is likely to be long: despite this ruling, his federal habeas case, which is being heard in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey, will continue.
At his hearing in Jena, Mahmoud Khalil asked to address the court, according to an ACLU press release.
“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,” Khalil said. “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. I just hope that the urgency that you deemed fit for me is afforded to the hundreds of others who have been here without hearing for months.”
Since Khalil’s March 8th arrest, over 800 other noncitizen students, recent graduates, and university affiliates have had their visas revoked.
Correction, April 12th: This article has been updated to more accurately reflect the terms of the Immigration and Nationality Act Section 237.
