USA
US judge rules pro-Palestine activist can be deported over campus protests in landmark case
The decision sets an important precedent that legal residency can be revoked without any criminal conviction
April 12, 2025 11:05
The decision sets an important precedent that legal residency can be revoked without any criminal conviction
April 12, 2025 11:05A US court has ruled that pro-Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported over his role in last year’s campus protests in a landmark immigration case.
Khalil, the Syrian-born son of Palestinian refugees, holds legal permanent residency in the US – commonly known as a green card – through his wife, who was born in Michigan.
He was detained last month by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials over his participation in pro-Palestine demonstrations at Columbia University in 2024.
During the protests, student activists were accused of violently occupying university buildings and promoting antisemitic rhetoric. However, Khalil is not accused of any criminal conduct and has never been charged with a crime.
Indeed, the Trump administration conceded that there was no evidence he had participated in the occupation, instead acting only as a negotiator with university administrators on behalf of the demonstrators.
However, the State Department’s legal team argued that Khalil held antisemitic views and that he presented a threat to national security, allowing his residency to be revoked under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952.
In an official memo earlier this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued that, while Khalil’s “past, current or expected beliefs, statements, or associations... are otherwise lawful”, the obscure Act allows him to “personally determine” whether he can be deported.
He added that allowing Khalil to remain would create a “hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States” and “severely undermine” the US’ foreign policy goals.
And yesterday an immigration court in Louisiana (the state in which Khalil is being held) sided with the administration, ruling that his green card could legally be revoked on national security grounds.
Judge Jamee Comans ruled that the government had “established by clear and convincing evidence that [Khalil] is removable” and that his continuing presence in the US could have “potentially serious foreign policy consequences”.
The decision was met with scorn from Khalil’s lawyer, Marc Van Der Hout, who said: “Today, we saw our worst fears play out: Mahmoud was subject to a charade of due process, a flagrant violation of his right to a fair hearing, and a weaponisation of immigration law to suppress dissent.”
Van Der Hout also confirmed that Khalil intends to appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) in the near future.
As such it is unlikely that he will be deported for at least several weeks.
However, the BIA is part of the Justice Department rather than the judicial system – the Department is led by the Attorney General who reports directly to the President – so appears likely to share the administration’s policy.
If the ruling is upheld, it will set a significant precedent that green card holders can have their status revoked without any criminal conviction.
Khalil, though, has also filed a federal lawsuit in New Jersey, arguing that his deportation would violate his constitutional rights under the First Amendment.
This will be heard through the federal court system, rather than the immigration administration, and could escalate all the way to the Supreme Court.
Not only would this delay his deportation by up to several years, but it could also, unusually, see the immigration court’s ruling effectively overturned on constitutional grounds.