An immigration judge in Louisiana has ordered pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a legal permanent resident of the United States, deported to Syria or Algeria for allegedly failing to disclose details on his green card application, according to court documents filed.
Khalil’s lawyers said they intend to appeal the ruling, but warned the process will likely be swift and unfavourable.
They noted that a separate order from a federal judge in New Jersey continues to block Khalil’s removal while his habeas case is under review.
The deportation order, issued September 12 by Immigration Judge Jamee Comans, came despite an earlier ruling by US District Judge Michael Farbiarz prohibiting Khalil’s deportation while his federal case proceeds.
That case argues his arrest and detention were unlawful retaliation for his Palestinian advocacy.
Khalil, a Palestinian born in Syria and a former Columbia University graduate student, was arrested at his Manhattan home in March and placed into deportation proceedings.
He has not been charged with a crime.
Vow to appeal
His lawyers said they have 30 days to appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals, but noted that subsequent appeals to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals are unlikely to succeed.
"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," they wrote.
In a statement, Khalil accused the Trump administration of targeting him for his political views.
"It is no surprise that the Trump administration continues to retaliate against me for my exercise of free speech. Their latest attempt, through a kangaroo immigration court, exposes their true colors once again," he said.
For more than three months this year, Khalil was held in detention in Louisiana after his arrest, when the administration invoked a rarely used immigration provision allowing deportation if the Secretary of State deems a noncitizen’s presence harmful to US foreign policy.
In June, Judge Farbiarz blocked that attempt and ordered Khalil’s release, finding he was neither a flight risk nor a danger.
Khalil returned to New York to be reunited with his wife, a US citizen, and their newborn son.
But the administration has continued pursuing deportation on the grounds that he failed to disclose prior employment and organisational memberships on his green card application.
First of many
Khalil was the first person arrested under President Donald Trump's crackdown on student protests against Israel's genocide in Gaza.
He was detained on March 8 at his apartment building in Manhattan.
While he was not among those arrested on campus, his role as a negotiator and spokesperson for student protesters made him a prominent target.
A few days after Khalil's arrest, Trump's claim came due after another pro-Palestine scholar, Badar Khan Suri, an Indian researcher at Georgetown University, was arrested.
His attorney said he was arrested because of the Palestinian identity of his wife. He was released in May.
After the arrest of Suri, authorities went after another pro-Palestine student, Momodou Taal, asking him to turn himself in.
On March 25, Yunseo Chung, a Columbia University student, said she sued the Trump administration to stop her deportation from the US over her participation in a pro-Palestine protest last Spring.
Also on March 25, Rumeysa Ozturk, who is a Tufts University PhD student, was kidnapped in broad daylight by US authorities over criticising Israel's carnage in Gaza.
On April 14, authorities arrested Mohsen Mahdawi during his citizenship interview before he was released on April 30.
