Federal Court Rules Anti-Israel Protester Mahmoud Khalil Can Be Deported Over Visa Misrepresentation
A federal immigration court has ruled that Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent anti-Israel protester involved in organizing demonstrations at Columbia University, is eligible for deportation due to visa-related violations, according to a report by Fox News.
Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Jamee Comans, presiding in a Louisiana courtroom, determined Friday that the U.S. government had met its legal burden, concluding that Khalil, 30, can be lawfully removed from the United States under current immigration statutes.
Khalil, who has publicly spoken in support of Palestinian causes, criticized the court’s handling of his case during the hearing.
“What we witnessed today lacked both due process and fundamental fairness,” he said. “This is exactly why the Trump administration sent me to this courtroom, 1,000 miles away from my family.”
Khalil’s legal troubles stem from alleged omissions and misrepresentations in his visa and green card applications. Attorneys for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) argued that he failed to disclose critical affiliations and prior employment. These included:
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Past work with the Syrian office at the British Embassy in Beirut,
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An undisclosed role with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA),
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His involvement with Columbia University Apartheid Divest, an activist group advocating for divestment from Israel.
According to DHS, such omissions amounted to “fraud or willful misrepresentation of material facts,” making Khalil inadmissible at the time of his green card adjustment.
Khalil’s attorney, Sabrine Mohamah, denounced the court’s decision, calling it “as unjust as it is alarming.”
“This is a dangerous violation of the First Amendment,” she warned. “It sets a troubling precedent that could chill political speech for thousands of noncitizens.”
She also pointed to Khalil’s current incarceration in Louisiana, a state known for its vast immigration detention infrastructure. “Louisiana detains over 7,000 people daily. One of its centers is the only ICE facility in the country directly connected to an airport, accelerating mass deportations,” she noted.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem responded to the case with sharp words:
“Living and studying in the United States is a privilege. When someone glorifies terrorists, harasses Jewish students, and supports violence, they forfeit that privilege,” she said. “Good riddance.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also submitted evidence to the court citing the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 to support Khalil’s deportation, a move that Khalil’s legal team criticized as broad and vague.
“This administration’s policy lacks clarity and sets no clear standard for what speech could lead to removal,” the lawyers said, warning that lawful permanent residents who express pro-Palestinian views now risk similar treatment.
In a public letter titled “A Letter to Columbia”, Khalil accused the university of contributing to his legal ordeal.
“Columbia laid the groundwork for my abduction,” he wrote. “This feels hauntingly similar to when I fled Assad’s brutal regime in Syria. The federal government’s actions are merely an extension of Columbia’s repression of pro-Palestinian voices.”