Louisiana Judge Orders Deportation of Pro-Palestinian Activist Mahmoud Khalil

A Louisiana immigration judge has ordered Mahmoud Khalil to be deported to Syria or Algeria, alleging that he withheld certain information on his green card application, according to court documents filed on Wednesday by his lawyers. 

Khalil’s lawyers intended that they would appeal the deportation bid, but stated that the process will likely be swift and unfavourable, Politico reported

Khalil is a legal permanent resident of the United States, a former Columbia University graduate student and one of the most prominent names in the U.S. pro-Palestinian campus protests. He was released in June after his arrest and detention by immigration agents. After being released, he had sued the Trump administration on July 10 for $20 million.

The latest order from Immigration Judge Jamee Comans came despite a separate ruling in Khalil’s federal case in New Jersey, which blocked his deportation while that court reviewed his claim that the detention and removal are unlawful retaliation for his pro-Palestinian stance.

In a letter to the New Jersey federal judge, Michael Farbiarz, Khalil’s lawyers stated they have 30 days from Friday (September 12), the date of the immigration judge’s ruling, to appeal her decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals. 

The lawyers mentioned that the appeals court “almost never” grants stays of removal to noncitizens.

“As a result,” they wrote, “the only meaningful impediment to Petitioner’s physical removal from the United States would be this Court’s important order prohibiting removal during the pendency of his federal habeas case,” adding that “nothing would preserve his lawful permanent resident status.”

Khalil, 30, said that it is no surprise that the Trump administration continues to retaliate against him for his exercise of free speech, calling the administration’s methods “fascist tactics.”

“Their latest attempt, through a kangaroo immigration court, exposes their true colors once again,” he said.

“When their first effort to deport me was set to fail, they resorted to fabricating baseless and ridiculous allegations in a bid to silence me for speaking out and standing firmly with Palestine, demanding an end to the ongoing genocide,” he continued. “Such fascist tactics will never deter me from continuing to advocate for my people’s liberation.”

NBC News reported that the Trump administration has accused Khalil of serving as a political officer with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees and was involved with Columbia University’s Apartheid Divest campaign. The Trump administration further alleged that he failed to disclose his prior employment at the Syria Office of the British Embassy in Beirut in his permanent residency application last year.