April 11, 2025

A Louisiana immigration judge ruled Friday that Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil is eligible for deportation after the Trump administration accused the legal permanent resident of being a threat to U.S. foreign policy for his involvement in pro-Palestinian activism.

Judge Jamee Comans issued her ruling after a nearly two-hour hearing at the LaSalle Immigration Court in Jena, Louisiana, where Khalil, 30, has been detained since he was arrested at his New York City apartment last month and stripped of his green-card status. The judge set a deadline of April 23 for Khalil’s legal team to apply for a wavier to delay or prevent the administration from removing him from the country, his attorneys said.

Khalil’s legal team said before the hearing that the judge’s ruling would not mean he is immediately removed from the country. Khalil has filed a federal court lawsuit in New Jersey challenging his arrest as unconstitutional, and the outcome of that case could block his deportation if they are victorious, the lawyers said.

The ruling in Louisiana marked a milestone victory for the Trump administration, which has targeted international university students and faculty for detention and deportation. Some have been involved in campus activism and others are accused of unlawful activities.

In some cases, the scholars have been stripped of their legal status based on relatively minor legal infractions that were dropped without convictions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month the administration had revoked about 300 visas. Figures released Thursday by a nonprofit education group indicate the total figure is likely higher. The data collected by NAFSA: Association of International Educators indicates nearly 1,000 students and scholars have had their visas revoked and/or their records terminated in an ICE database, thus putting their legal status in the country in jeopardy.

In a State Department memo, submitted to the court this week, Rubio said Khalil and another student, whose name was redacted, helped foster “a hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States.”

Rubio wrote that their continued presence in the country would “undermine U.S. policy to combat antisemitism around the world and in the United States, in addition to efforts to protect Jewish students from harassment and violence.”

Khalil’s legal team vigorously rejected the government’s accusations. They said the Trump administration is targeting their client and others student activists over political views and violating their constitutional rights to free speech.

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