A federal immigration judge has ordered Mahmoud Khalil — a former Columbia University graduate student linked to pro-Palestinian protests — to be deported to either Algeria or Syria.
The Trump administration has accused him of “hateful behavior and rhetoric.”
Comans once again ordered him to be deported to either Algeria, where Khalil is a citizen, or Syria, where he was born.
“Their latest attempt, through a kangaroo immigration court, exposes their true colors once again.”
The immigration judge also said that Khalil shouldn’t get discretion from the court because of the “gravity of his conduct.”
Mahmoud Khalil, a former graduate student at Columbia University connected to pro-Palestinian demonstrations, has been ordered to be deported to either Algeria or Syria by a federal immigration judge.
Originally revealed in court documents submitted by Khalil’s attorneys on Wednesday as part of his case against the government, the ruling was rendered last week. As part of a larger campaign to punish international students who objected to Israel’s actions in its war against Hamas, Khalil, a green card holder, claims the Trump administration detained him for months and attempted to deport him. He has been accused of “hateful behavior and rhetoric” by the Trump administration. “..”.
Khalil’s request for a waiver keeping him from being removed from the United States was turned down by immigration judge Jamee Comans of Louisiana on Friday. S. . due to allegations that he falsified his background on his green card application. Once more, Comans ordered his deportation to Syria, where he was born, or Algeria, where Khalil is a citizen.
In a letter to U.S. on Wednesday, Khalil’s attorneys stated that he now has 30 days to challenge Comans’ decision before the Board of Immigration Appeals, a body within the Justice Department. If his appeal is denied, Khalil will lose his green card status and be forced to leave the country. S. . Michael Farbiarz is the district judge.
Khalil’s attorneys informed Farbiarz that they intend to modify his case against the government in view of “these most recent, extremely unusual developments.”. The immigration judge “rushed to a decision without providing a hearing on the evidence as due process requires, engaging in multiple procedural irregularities,” Khalil’s legal team said in a statement released on Wednesday. “.”.
“The Trump administration’s continued retaliation against me for exercising my right to free speech is not surprising,” Khalil said in the statement. They once again reveal their true selves in their most recent attempt to use a kangaroo immigration court. “,”.
The Department of Homeland Security has been contacted by CBS News for comment.
When Khalil was first arrested by immigration officials in New York in March, the legal battle between him and the federal government began. Khalil is among a number of foreign students who were arrested because of their involvement in pro-Palestinian campus activism, which the protesters dispute but which the Trump administration claims is rife with antisemitism.
At first, the Trump administration claimed that Khalil could be deported in accordance with a federal law that permits the removal of noncitizens if the Secretary of State finds that their presence presents “adverse foreign policy consequences.”. “.
Khalil’s “career and reputation are being damaged and his speech is being chilled,” Farbiarz said in June, preventing the government from deporting him on foreign policy grounds. Khalil was freed from Louisiana’s immigration detention one month later.
However, the Trump administration made another accusation, which led to the continuation of his immigration case. The government also accused Khalil of omitting information on his immigration documents about his previous affiliations, such as his “continuing employment” at the British Embassy in Lebanon and his membership in a United Nations organization that assists Palestinians, in addition to the foreign policy allegations.
Based on those accusations, Comans determined last week that Khalil was not legally entitled to a waiver of deportation. The immigration judge added that due to the “severity of his conduct,” Khalil should not be granted discretion by the court. It should have been obvious to her that disclosure was necessary when she referred to Khalil as an intelligent, Ivy League educated individual.
The judge wrote, “This Court finds that Respondent’s lack of candor on his [immigration forms] was not an oversight by an uninformed, uneducated applicant.”. This Court concludes that the Respondent intentionally misrepresented one or more material facts in order to get around the immigration process and lessen the possibility that his application would be rejected. “.”.
Khalil claims that he was not a member of the U.S. and has denied making false statements. “N.”. agency, but worked as an unpaid intern for Columbia instead. Despite the government’s assertions that he continued to work at the British Embassy in Beirut after 2022, he has also declared that he ceased his employment there in 2022.
On Wednesday, his attorneys referred to the allegations as “pretextual” and “baseless” in a statement. “..”.
