An immigration judge in Louisiana has ordered the deportation of anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil, a legal permanent resident, to either Syria or Algeria, Politico reported on Wednesday.
The order, issued by Judge Jamee Comans on September 12, stems from Khalil's alleged failure to disclose certain information on his green card application.
This ruling comes despite an existing federal court order in New Jersey that explicitly blocks his deportation while that court reviews his argument that his detention and removal are unlawful retaliation for his pro-Palestinian Arab advocacy.
Khalil’s lawyers, in a recent federal court filing, indicated their intent to appeal the deportation order but expressed significant concern that the process would be “swift and unfavorable.” They have a 30-day window from the September 12 ruling to appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
They wrote that a subsequent appeal to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is unlikely to succeed, as that court “almost never” grants stays of removal to noncitizens.
Khalil, a former Columbia University student who organized anti-Israel protests on campus, made national headlines earlier this year when he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in March for allegedly posing a threat to national security. He was released in late June after a judge ruled that his detention was unconstitutional.
Despite this setback, the Trump administration has continued its efforts to deport Khalil, adding a new rationale to the case: that he failed to disclose his full employment history and membership in certain organizations when he applied for his green card.
The controversial activist faced widespread condemnation for his defense of the October 7, 2023 massacre that ignited the Israel-Hamas War. In an interview with the New York Times on August 6, he bizarrely attempted to justify the massacre as a “desperate attempt” by Hamas to “just break the cycle” of Palestinian Arab suffering. He also refused to describe the attack as a “mistake,” acknowledging only that “targeting civilians is wrong.”
Days after his release, Khalil joined an anti-Israel rally in New York City. Footage posted to social media showed Khalil during the protest, which included chants of “Palestine will live forever” and “from the river to the sea”.
He appeared at yet another anti-Israel demonstration last month, where he quoted an Al Jazeera correspondent who also served as a Hamas terrorist and was eliminated by Israel in Gaza.
