Mahmoud Khalil judge says that Trump can deport the Palestinian activist via Columbia protests
A judge has judged that pro Palestine Activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported because of his involvement in protests Columbia University.
The 30-year-old was arrested last month by immigration authorities, even though they are not accused of violating laws.
The Trump government argued that his involvement in the demonstrations was proof that he led ‘activities that are tuned to his HamasA designated terrorist organization ‘.
Khalil – who was born in a Syrian refugee camp for Palestinian parents – and his team claimed that he had his first amendment on freedom of expression.
But in the Friday statement, Judge Jamee Comans said that the government had drawn up by “clear and convincing evidence that he is removable.”
Khalil has been in custody for one Louisiana prison since his arrest. He described himself as a “political prisoner”And planned the filthy circumstances, he says he is being held.
Khalil was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in SyriaHolds Algerian citizenship and became an American legal permanent resident last year.
His wife, Noor Abdalla, who is eight months pregnant, is also an American citizen.
A judge ruled that professional Palestine activist Khalil Mahmoud can be deported because of his involvement in protests at Columbia University
The 30-year-old was arrested last year by immigration authorities by immigration authorities about his role in igniting pro-Palestinian protests in Columbia last year
Secretary Marco Rubio said that Khalil must be removed because his presence in the US has a potentially serious adverse consequences for foreign policy, “with reference to a 1952 law called the Immigration and Nationality Act.
In a letter to the court, Rubio wrote that Khalil should be removed for his role in “anti -Semitic protests and disturbing activities, which promote a hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States.”
Rubio’s letter did not accuse Khalil of violating laws, but he said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can withdraw the legal status of immigrants, even when their beliefs, associations or statements are ‘otherwise legal’.
Khalil and his lawyers said that the Trump government focused on him for speech protected under the first amendment of the US Constitution, including the right to criticize US foreign policy.
The activist was arrested on March 8 in his apartment building in Columbia University and transferred to prison.
His lawyers have said that they are being hurried to revise the evidence that the administration submitted on Wednesday by order of the judge.
Baher Azmy, the legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights and one of the lawyers of Khalil, told a press conference on Thursday that Rubios letter “A kind of tasteless, Diktat in Soviet style is those equal parts are empty and hair-raising.”
Khalil said that criticism of the support of the US government on the military occupation of Israel of Palestinian territories is wrongly merged with anti -Semitism.
He is not accused of violating laws and his lawyers say that he exercised his constitutional right to freedom of expression
Khalil played a leading role last month in the ignition of pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University, and although he has not been accused of a crime, Trump officials said that he was held because he led the activities that are tailored to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization ‘
The wife of Mahmoud Khalil, Noor Abdalla (photo) is eight months pregnant, and he wrote in his letter behind bars: “I hope to be free to witness the birth of my firstborn child.”
His lawyers are expected to appeal against today’s decision. His team has until April 23 to submit requests for help.
The graduate student of the international affairs had served as a negotiator and spokesperson for student activists at Columbia University who took over a campus lawn to Protest against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
The university brought in the police to dismantle the camp after a small group of protesters had seized an administration building.
Khalil is not accused of participating in the construction occupation and was not arrested among people in connection with the demonstrations.
But images of his masks -free face in protests, together with his willingness to share his name with reporters, have made him a mining object among those who saw the demonstrators and their demands as anti -Semitic.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told AP that the department does not comment on current legal affairs.
In a separate case in a federal court in New Jersey, Khalil challenges what he has said his illegal arrest, detention and transfer to the Louisiana prison, about 1200 miles from his family and lawyers in New York City.
His detention led to a wave of protests in the Big Apple and beyond.
The arrest of Khalil led to protests in New York, shown in Lower Manhattan on March 12, 2025
Khalil said he believes that his arrest was the result of ‘anti-Palestinian racism’ in both the Biden and Trump administrations’, and claimed that he was made an example to act as a deterrent for other potential activists.
“I wake up with cold mornings and spend long days witnessing the calm injustice against many people who are excluded from the protection of the law,” said Khalil in a letter, by NBC News.
“Who has the right to have rights? It is certainly not the people who are busy here in the cells, “he wrote.
The American Immigration Court System is led and its judges are appointed by the US Department of Justice, apart from the judicial branch of the government.
