WASHINGTON: A US immigration judge ruled on Friday that Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian graduate student at Columbia University, can be deported, backing the Trump administration’s claim that his activism poses a risk to US foreign policy.
Judge Jamee Comans of the LaSalle Immigration Court in Louisiana said she could not overrule a determination made by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who cited the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act to justify Khalil’s removal.
Rubio’s undated letter, submitted this week, described Khalil’s participation in pro-Palestinian protests as “antisemitic” and “disruptive,” arguing that his presence in the country could negatively impact American foreign policy interests.
Khalil, 27, was arrested by federal agents on 8 March at his New York apartment and transferred to an immigrant detention centre in Jena, a rural town 1,200 miles from his university and family.
He has not been charged with any crime.
Khalil, who was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria and holds Algerian citizenship, became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 2024. His wife is a US citizen.
His legal team said the government was punishing Khalil for protected political speech, including criticism of US support for Israel. They argued the rushed hearing, held inside a jail complex, violated his right to due process.
“This is exactly why the Trump administration has sent me to this court, 1,000 miles away from my family,” Khalil told the judge after she issued her decision. “Clearly, neither due process nor fairness were present in this hearing.”
His lead attorney, Marc Van Der Hout, said the defence team was given less than 48 hours to review new evidence from the government, including Rubio’s letter. A request to subpoena Rubio for questioning was denied.
Judge Comans reprimanded Khalil’s lawyer during the hearing, saying he was straying from its purpose and had “an agenda.” She said the law gave the secretary of state “unilateral judgment” in such national security matters.
The court gave Khalil’s team until 23 April to submit an application for relief. Immigration judges can block deportation in certain cases, including if the individual faces persecution in their home country.
A separate case in federal court in New Jersey has temporarily halted any deportation while a judge considers whether Khalil’s arrest violated the First Amendment.
Khalil’s supporters, who have held demonstrations at Columbia University and beyond, see his case as a test of student free speech rights in the US. Some wept as they left Friday’s hearing.
“He was subject to a charade of due process,” Van Der Hout said in a statement, “and a weaponisation of immigration law to suppress dissent.”
The US immigration court system is overseen by the Justice Department and is distinct from the independent judicial branch.
