US Judge Deems Arab Student Eligible for Deportation over Political Activity

Judge Jamee Comans issued the decision after a nearly two-hour hearing at the LaSalle Immigration Court in Jena, Louisiana, where Khalil, 30, has been held since his March arrest in New York.

He was stripped of his green card following the arrest.

Comans set an April 23 deadline for Khalil’s legal team to file a waiver that could delay or block his deportation, according to his attorneys.

If the waiver is not submitted in time, Khalil could be deported to either Syria, his birthplace, or Algeria, where he holds citizenship.

His attorneys said they will appeal if the judge orders deportation and are exploring additional legal options to keep him in the United States.

Immigration judges operate under the Department of Justice and are separate from the federal judiciary.
Khalil has filed a federal lawsuit in New Jersey challenging the legality of his arrest.

US District Judge Michael Farbiarz held a short videoconference Friday with representatives from both sides to receive updates following Comans’s ruling.

“The fight isn’t over — we’ll keep fighting for Mahmoud’s freedom and all of our First Amendment rights in federal court,” the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents Khalil, posted on social media.

The ruling represents a significant victory for the Trump administration, which has ramped up efforts to detain and deport international students and faculty, even those with legal immigration status.

Some of the targeted individuals have participated in campus activism, while others have faced accusations of criminal activity.

Civil liberties groups and immigrant advocates have pushed back, accusing the administration of infringing on free speech in pursuit of a broader deportation agenda.

Some students and scholars have had their legal status revoked due to political activism or minor legal issues that did not result in convictions.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in March that roughly 300 visas had been revoked.

According to data released Thursday by NAFSA: Association of International Educators, the true number is likely higher, with nearly 1,000 students and scholars facing visa revocations or ICE database terminations, putting their legal status at risk.

White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said, “The Trump Administration is committed to the enforcement of our immigration laws and will take swift action to remove aliens who pose serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”

The White House celebrated the court ruling by sharing a Fox News headline on X, featuring photos of Khalil and President Donald Trump.

The image of Trump was taken last year during a campaign event at a McDonald’s drive-through window.

Addressing the court, Khalil 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. Clearly what we witnessed today, neither of these principles were present today or in this whole process.”

Federal authorities accused Khalil of inciting antisemitic protests and supporting Hamas.

His attorneys countered that Khalil is a peaceful protester advocating for Palestinian rights.

In a two-page memo submitted this week, Rubio claimed Khalil and another unnamed student contributed to “a hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States.”

Rubio wrote that allowing Khalil to remain would “undermine US policy to combat antisemitism around the world and in the United States.”

Khalil’s attorneys denied the allegations and said the administration is targeting student activists for their political beliefs.

During the hearing, the defense requested additional time and access to Department of Homeland Security documents cited in Rubio’s memo.

Comans denied both requests, stating that immigration courts lack the authority to expand the legal record beyond what is presented at the hearing, according to attorney Marc Van Der Hout.

The judge held in abeyance a separate charge of immigration fraud related to Khalil’s green-card application, which his attorneys dispute.

Several Democratic lawmakers and free-speech advocates condemned the decision.

“We cannot allow the Trump Administration to end our constitutional rights,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who is Palestinian American.

“The right to free speech obviously includes the right to protest the Israeli government’s genocide of Palestinians. This fascism won’t end with Mahmoud Khalil. It’s a threat to all of us.”

Will Creeley, legal director at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, stated: “The only ‘crime’ the government has offered was that Mahmoud Khalil expressed a disfavored political opinion. If that’s a crime in America, every single one of us is guilty.”

Khalil was arrested on March 8 by plainclothes federal agents as he and his pregnant wife, a US citizen, returned to their university apartment.

Court filings say the agents identified themselves as DHS officers and informed Khalil they were revoking his student visa.

Khalil and his wife said he presented his green card, confirming his legal permanent residency.

Khalil’s lawyers objected to his detention in Louisiana, over 1,300 miles from his New York home, and filed a federal suit challenging the constitutionality of his confinement.

A judge later ruled that the legal proceedings could continue in New Jersey, where Khalil was briefly detained before being transferred to the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center.

Following Khalil’s arrest, Trump posted on social media that it was the “first arrest of many” involving those engaged in “pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity.”

He referred to Khalil as a “Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student.”

Supporters describe Khalil as a diplomatic, hard-working student.

He served as a liaison between demonstrators and Columbia University’s administration during major protests last spring.

Khalil frequently spoke to the press, openly and without hiding his identity.

He told The Washington Post earlier this year that he was not affiliated with Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a protest group known for pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

Born and raised in a Syrian refugee camp, Khalil studied in Lebanon before moving to the US in 2023 for graduate studies at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs.

His green card was granted in November 2024.

In January, Trump vowed to deport foreign students involved in what he called “pro-jihadist” demonstrations.

“It sets a dangerous precedent,” Khalil told The Post, “where peaceful protest is met with severe consequences, eroding democratic principles and academic freedom.”