An immigration judge in Louisiana ruled on Friday that Mahmoud Khalil, a legal resident and student at Columbia University, can be deported by the United States.
According to the ruling, the judge determined the outcome based on the federal government’s argument that Khalil, 30, poses a national security risk. Khalil’s lawyers slammed the decision, stating that they would “continue working tirelessly until Mahmoud is free.”
Khalil, a legal U.S. permanent resident with a valid green card and not having broken any actual laws, was taken into custody by ICE on March 8 at his university apartment and was transferred to an immigration detention center in Jena, Louisiana. Despite his legal residency, the White House announced its intention to work to deport Khalil over his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the Columbia University campus last year.
Since his detention, several protests have been held in New York City. On March 12, hundreds of protesters descended upon a Manhattan courthouse during his initial hearing. Several other protests have previously broken out at Columbia University in support of Khalil, and during a different demonstration, protesters took over Trump Tower to express their support for Khalil.
On Wednesday, March 19, a federal judge in the Southern District of New York ordered that Khalil’s case be transferred from Louisiana to New Jersey for further consideration. The New York judge also reaffirmed a previous ruling blocking Khalil’s deportation, pending a further order.
Khalil reportedly has until April 23 to file for relief.
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said, “This Louisiana immigration judge’s dangerous, unconstitutional ruling allowing the deportation of a legal permanent resident because the current administration wants to punish him for exercising his First Amendment right to criticize the Israeli government’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza must not stand. Although today’s ruling is just the first step in a long legal process, it should be alarming to all Americans who cherish the Bill of Rights and basic freedoms like free speech. We are confident that federal courts will see through the Trump administration’s lawless attack on free speech and that the movement against the Israeli government’s genocide will continue to grow in our nation, despite these Orwellian attempts to suppress free speech.”
