A United States immigration judge has ordered the deportation of Palestinian-rights advocate Mahmoud Khalil, ruling that he misrepresented information in his green card application.
Judge Jamee Comans, presiding in Louisiana, concluded that the 30-year-old activist “deliberately concealed material facts in order to bypass the immigration system.”
The decision leaves him facing removal to either Algeria, where he holds citizenship, or Syria, where he was born.
Khalil, a permanent US resident, insists the case is politically motivated. In a statement released through the American Civil Liberties Union, he accused the Trump administration of punishing him for his outspoken role in pro-Palestinian activism.
Khalil rose to prominence during the 2024 Gaza war protests at Columbia University, where he studied. He was a visible figure in negotiations between student activists and the administration, although he has denied allegations that he led the Columbia University Apartheid Divest movement.
His legal team has pledged to appeal, pointing out that federal court injunctions remain in place preventing his detention or deportation.
They also noted that Khalil has already filed a $20 million lawsuit against the government, claiming false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, and reputational damage.
Earlier this year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained him for three months in Louisiana under a broader federal crackdown on what Trump officials described as universities failing to curb antisemitism.
He was released in June after a federal judge determined he posed neither a security risk nor a flight risk. During his detention, Khalil’s wife, a US citizen, gave birth to their first child.
The government argues that Khalil concealed previous associations, including involvement with UNRWA, the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees and employment ties with the British Embassy in Beirut. Khalil dismisses these claims as fabricated, saying they represent a desperate attempt to silence his advocacy.
Trump has repeatedly accused pro-Palestinian activists of supporting Hamas and hailed Khalil’s arrest as a warning of “the first of many to come.”
Despite the ruling, Khalil maintains that his fight is far from over: “They want to silence me, but I will continue to stand for justice in Palestine and against the ongoing genocide.”
