Louisiana judge rules that Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil can be deported

Permanent legal resident Mahmoud Khalil can be deported from the US, a judge has ruled following a hearing on Friday. 

The judge said that a State Department memo on Palestinian activist’s beliefs was enough evidence to remove him from the US.

In his memo, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Khalil’s “beliefs and associations” were not in foreign policy interests and were sufficient evidence to remove a green card holder from the United States. The memo, which is the main piece of evidence submitted by the government, made no allegations of criminal conduct against Khalil.

The judge gave Khalil's lawyers a deadline of 23 April to file applications for relief to stop his deportation. Failure to do so would mean he would be sent to Syria or Algeria.

Khalil's support team, who spoke at a press conference outside a Louisiana detention center, said, “Today an immigration judge ruled that Mahmoud can be removed from this country," reported The Guardian. "A decision as unjust as it is alarming. Despite the government’s failure to prove that Mahmoud broke any law, the court has decided that lawful permanent residents can have their status revoked for pro-Palestine advocacy. This is a blatant violation of the First Amendment and a dangerous precedent for anyone who believes in free speech and political expression.

"But this decision should not pacify you; it should embolden and encourage you. Those who know Mahmoud know him for his fierce commitment to justice and his refusal to back down from even the steepest of challenges. It is Mahmoud’s fighting spirit that we must embrace in the following days. While his deportation would devastate his wife and their soon-to-be-born child, it would also intimidate all who dare to speak for Palestinian liberation. We must not give in to this chilling effect.”

Khalil, who played a prominent role in the Columbia University student protests over the past year, was detained in early March by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in his apartment building in New York City.

Khalil has been held at an ICE prison facility in Jena, Louisiana, for the past month, where his lawyers believe the Trump administration finds judges more favourable to the US government. 

The Trump administration submitted evidence on Wednesday, published by the Associated Press, where Rubio insisted that Khalil's "presence or activities would compromise a compelling US foreign policy interest".