Judge Rules Mahmoud Khalil Can Be Deported from the U.S.

Featured image: Mahmoud Khalil at the Columbia University campus in New York. Source: Ted Shaffrey/AP file.

A U.S. judge has determined that Mahmoud Khalil, Palestinian activist student from Columbia University, can be deported from the United States, citing a provision of immigration law that allows his deportation based on alleged threats to US foreign policy interests.

Mahmoud Khalil, born in Syria to Palestinian refugees, moved to the US in 2022, where he earned a master’s degree at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Zionist forces labeled him a leader of Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a student group that demanded, among other things, the university divest from its financial ties to Israel and a ceasefire in Gaza. Mahmoud Khalil denies the accusations. Columbia University was one of the places where mass student protests in solidarity with Palestine took place.

He was arrested on March 8 by immigration authorities and he called this arrest an “abduction”. US imperialist State claimed that he led activities “aligned with Hamas”. Khalil denounced Columbia’s leadership for suppressing student dissent over Israel’s genocidal war against Palestine. His deportation has sparked protests and denounced by students, Palestine solidarity groups and law experts, since Khalil is a lawful U.S. permanent resident with a green card. His lawyer denounces that he has been moved away from his wife, who is about to give birth.