An immigration judge in the US has ordered the deportation of pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil to either Algeria or Syria, over claims he omitted information from a green card application.
Judge Jamee Comans, based in Louisiana, said Mr Khalil “wilfully misrepresented material fact(s) for the sole purpose of circumventing the immigration process”.
In a statement to the American Civil Liberties Union, Mr Khalil said: “It is no surprise that the Trump administration continues to retaliate against me for my exercise of free speech.”
Mr Khalil, a permanent US resident of Palestinian descent, was a prominent figure during the 2024 Gaza war protests at Columbia University, where he studied.
Lawyers for Mr Khalil, 30, said they would appeal against the decision, and added that separate federal court orders remained in effect that prohibit the government from deporting or detaining him.
In March, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials detained Mr Khalil as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on universities it claims have failed to tackle antisemitism.
Mr Khalil, born in Syria and a citizen of Algeria, was held in an immigration facility in Louisiana for three months before a federal judge ruled that he was neither a flight risk nor a threat to his community.
On 20 June, the judge ruled Mr Khalil must be released.
While detained, Mr Khalil’s wife, a US citizen, gave birth to their son.
In March, the US government also accused Mr Khalil of leaving out details of his previous associations on immigration documentation, including membership of Unwra – the UN agency that works with Palestinians – and “continuing employment” at the British Embassy in Beirut.
Responding to the recent decision, Mr Khalil added: “When their first effort to deport me was set to fail, they resorted to fabricating baseless and ridiculous allegations in a bid to silence me for speaking out and standing firmly with Palestine, demanding an end to the ongoing genocide.”
In June, Mr Khalil’s lawyers filed a claim for $20m (£14.7m) in damages alleging false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and being smeared as an antisemite.
Trump has repeatedly alleged that pro-Palestinian activists, including Mr Khalil, support Hamas, a group designated a terrorist organisation by the US. The president argues these protesters should be deported and called Mr Khalil’s arrest “the first of many to come”.
Mr Khalil’s role in Columbia’s 2024 protests placed him in the public eye. On the front lines of negotiations, he played a role in mediating between university officials and the activists and students who attended the protests.
Activists supporting Israel have accused Mr Khalil of being a leader of Columbia University Apartheid Divest (Cuad), a student group that demanded, among other things, the university to divest from its financial ties to Israel and a ceasefire in Gaza.
Mr Khalil has denied that he led the group, telling the Associated Press (AP) that he only served as a spokesperson for protesters and as a mediator with the university.
By BBC News
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