While an immigration judge’s ruling that Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil – a legal permanent resident – can be deported is a victory for the Trump administration, the legal battle against his detention and deportation is far from over.
The decision by Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Jamee Comans in Louisiana on Friday came after the federal government submitted what it said was evidence alleging Khalil’s “beliefs, statements or associations” made him deportable.
The judge ruled the Palestinian activist’s presence posed “potentially serious foreign policy consequences,” agreeing with a two-page memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier in the week accusing Khalil of undermining “U.S. policy to combat anti-Semitism” without citing any allegations of criminal activity.
A “removability finding” in immigration court means the judge has determined the individual is subject to removal from the United States due to a violation of immigration law or lack of legal immigration status. Khalil’s attorneys said they will appeal.
“We don’t think this is the final word at all,” Marc Van Der Hout, an immigration attorney for Khalil, told CNN after the ruling, referring in part to a separate legal challenge in federal court in New Jersey on grounds that he is being targeted for constitutionally protected free speech.
Khalil has separate court cases playing out in two states – the Louisiana case is focused on his deportation order and the New Jersey case is focused on his habeas petition challenging the legality of his detention.
Immigration officers arrested Khalil last month outside his Columbia University apartment following a deportation order from the Trump administration. Khalil, who is married to a US citizen, is a prominent Palestinian activist who played a central role in protests against Israel’s war in Gaza on the Ivy League campus last year. After his detention, Khalil was flown by the government to an immigration detention center in Louisiana.
The case has become a symbol of the Trump administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses. Here’s a look at what could happen next:
Immigration case moves to ‘relief’ stage
Khalil’s attorneys said they will challenge Friday’s ruling before the Board of Immigration Appeals, and will likely file an asylum case on his behalf.
“We move on now into what’s called the relief stage, where Mahmoud can present certain applications to defend against removal, and we’re set to file additional evidence and applications by April 23,” Johnny Sinodis, an immigration attorney for Khalil, said Friday. “We foresee that this case will require at least a few more hearings in immigration court before … a final decision is made, at which point there could be appeals.”
Van Der Hout, in a conference call Friday with a federal judge in the New Jersey court where they’re also fighting for his release, said Khalil will likely apply for asylum.
“He is entitled to file for relief in the form of asylum withholding removal,” Van Der Hout told the judge. “So nothing’s going to happen quickly in the immigration proceedings, even though she’s found him removable on the foreign policy ground.”
The Trump administration is attempting to limit asylum claims in the US, an effort that is also under litigation right now.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, an immigrant advocacy group, said on social media the decision on Khalil’s application for relief from removal – whether granted or denied – will likely end up before the Board of Immigration Appeals.
“Neither the immigration judge nor the Board of Immigration Appeals is authorized to hear his arguments that the Trump (administration) is violating the First Amendment here,” Reichlin-Melnick wrote on X. “If he loses at the BIA, he can make those arguments to a federal circuit court on a second round of appeals.”
Khalil keeps his green card and can’t be deported, Reichlin-Melnick wrote, until he loses at the appeals board and his removal order becomes final.