Explained: Why a Columbia Student Protester Is Facing Deportation And What Happens Next

Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University grad student, is facing deportation after participating in campus protests against Israel. Here’s a point-by-point breakdown of what’s going on:

 Who Is Mahmoud Khalil?

• A 30-year-old Palestinian graduate student studying international affairs at Columbia University became a known face during campus protests over Israel’s military actions in Gaza, the Associated Press reported. Khalil reportedly served as a negotiator and spokesperson for students protesting at Columbia’s encampment last spring.

 The Arrest

• Khalil was detained by U.S. immigration authorities on March 8 in the lobby of his university apartment and is currently being held in an immigration detention center in Jena, Louisiana, away from his legal team and pregnant wife, who is a U.S. citizen, the report said.

 Why Is He Facing Deportation?

• According to the report, Khalil is a legal U.S. resident and hasn’t been accused of any criminal activity. Immigration authorities, however, have reportedly argued that non-citizens who participate in demonstrations expressing “pro-Hamas” or antisemitic sentiment should be deported.
• U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited a rarely used statute, allowing deportation of individuals who may cause “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”

 The Ruling

• Judge Jamee E. Comans ruled on Friday that Khalil is removable under U.S. immigration law.
• The judge agreed with the government that his presence in the U.S. posed potential harm to foreign policy interests, the report said.
• However, previous court orders in New York and New Jersey have temporarily blocked deportation while his case proceeds.

 What’s Next?

• According to the AP report, Khalil’s legal team is planning to:
  • Appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
  • Possibly pursue asylum, and
  • Seek a waiver by April 23 to delay further action.
• His lawyer, Marc Van Der Hout, reportedly called the ruling a “charade of due process” and a “weaponization” of immigration law to suppress dissent.

Mahmoud Khalil’s case comes just days after a Georgetown scholar was arrested reportedly for anti-Israel speech. Reports also emerged of student visas getting cancelled for some protesters under the new Trump administration. Earlier, a Brown University professor was deported over alleged links to Hezbollah.

ALSO READ: If This Stands, Anyone Can Be Next’: Lawyers Of Columbia Protester Mahmoud Khalil Decry Deportation Ruling As Attack On Free Speech