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Stunner! Judge rules Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported
As part of President Donald Trump’s agenda to make America more secure, he’s been deporting those individuals, including students, who create issues in communities or on university campuses that the government fears may be a threat.
One such individual is Mahmoud Khalil, who was part of a protest group at Columbia University advocating for Palestinians in Gaza and against the nation of Israel’s military actions to defend itself after the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of hundreds of Israeli civilians by Hamas terrorists from Gaza.
He was ordered deported earlier for his role in confrontations with school officials in which students demand they cut ties with Israel and divest from Israeli companies, and a groundswell among leftists protested.
Now a judge has ruled that he can be deported, based on Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s determination that found Khalil’s presence in the U.S. “would compromise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest.”
A report from ABC said the judge found he deportation is allowed “on grounds that he threatens foreign policy,” as alleged by the Trump administration.
BREAKING NEWS: “Mahmoud Khalil can be deported, judge rules” pic.twitter.com/J6gxLjHag6
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 11, 2025
BREAKING: A federal immigration judge in Louisiana has ruled that the Trump administration can REMOVE Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Hamas activist and Columbia University graduate.
“An immigration judge has found Mahmoud Khalil removable.” pic.twitter.com/riVIN9Qu2o
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) April 11, 2025
BREAKING: A judge rules that the Trump administration can move forward with deportation efforts for Mahmoud Khalil. | @brooketaylortv @marthamaccallum pic.twitter.com/JmAGnd3RPu
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 11, 2025
The report said his supporters were stunned, and the case could imply ramifications for other international students who have been involving in such protests, violent or not.
The judge did allow Khalil’s lawyers until April 23 to file applications for relief. Absent such a ruling, a deportation order would be issued.
Khalil is a green card holder and permanent legal resident who is married to an American citizen. His lawyer, Amol Sinha, told the court, “Today’s ruling is a rush to judgment on baseless charges that the government presented no evidence to substantiate because no evidence exists. Our client, Mr. Khalil, has been unlawfully detained in direct retaliation of his advocacy in support of Palestinian rights. This finding of removability is a dangerous departure from the fundamental freedoms at the bedrock of our nation that protect free speech under the First Amendment.”
The report noted, “Rubio wrote that Khalil should be deported because of his alleged role in ‘antisemitic protests and disruptive activities, which fosters a hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States.'”
In fact, the situation has gotten so severe at some pro-Hamas protests around the country that Jewish students have been prevented from utilizing the campus where they attend classes.
Khalil also talked to the judge, Jamee Comans, charging, “I would like to quote what you said last time that there’s nothing that’s more important to this court than due process rights and fundamental fairness. Clearly what we witnessed today, neither of these principles were present today or in this whole process. This is exactly why the Trump administration has sent me to this court, 1,000 miles away from my family. I just hope that the urgency that you deemed fit for me are afforded to the hundreds of others who have been here without hearing for months.”
A separate deportation case still is pending in New Jersey, which now apparently will keep Khalil from being deported soon.
The government has explained under the Immigration and Nationality Act, it believes migrants are deportable “if the secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe that the alien’s presence or activities in the United States would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”