![Demonstrators gather outside United States Federal Court House in New York City to show support for pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil and demand his immediate release from ICE detention. New York, U.S., March 12, 2025 [Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/AA-20250312-37319335-37319324-RALLY_FOR_COLUMBIA_GRADUATE_MAHMOUD_KHALIL_AS_NY_COURT_HEARS_DEPORTATION_CASE-scaled-e1741862007987.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
A US immigration judge ruled on Friday that a pro-Palestinian activist from Columbia University can be deported under a rarely invoked federal law, citing concerns related to foreign policy, according to media reports, including Anadolu Agency.
Mahmoud Khalil, a legal permanent resident and green card holder, was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers March 8 at his Columbia University housing in New York City.
He was initially taken to a facility in neighboring New Jersey before being transferred to a detention center in the state of Louisiana.
Judge Jamee Comans found Khalil could be removed from the country based on a determination by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who claimed that Khalil’s presence “would compromise a compelling US foreign policy interest.”
Comans gave Khalil’s legal team until April 23 to file an appeal. If they fail to meet the deadline, reports indicate that a removal order by the judge would be issued to deport him to Syria or Algeria.
READ: Mahmoud Khalil’s detention: A chilling signal in the crackdown on Palestinian solidarity
Rubio’s memo argued that allowing Khalil to remain in the US would undermine “US policy to combat antisemitism around the world and in the United States, in addition to efforts to protect Jewish students from harassment and violence in the United States.”
Marc Van Der Hout, one of Khalil’s attorneys, criticized the government’s case, stressing it lacked supporting evidence and targeted constitutionally protected First Amendment activity.
Khalil’s attorneys said the government failed to prove allegations that he misrepresented information on his green card application.
Rubio previously posted on X that “we will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.”
After Khalil’s attorneys filed a legal challenge, a federal judge in New York issued a temporary order blocking his deportation. The case was later transferred to New Jersey after Khalil was moved to a detention facility in that state.
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