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Tag: Mahmoud Khalil

Louisiana judge rules university student Mahmoud Khalil eligible for deportation

Posted on by neversleep

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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Vandals splash Columbia University president’s home with red paint as protests rage over ICE arrest of Mahmoud Khalil

Posted on by neversleep

Vandals targeted the home of Columbia University’s president, splashing the historic residence with red paint and scrawling the words “Free Them All,” as protests rage this week over ICE’s arrest of former protest ringleader Mahmoud Khalil, cops said.

The side of the building at 60 Morningside Drive appeared to have been pelted with red paint balloons — with the urgent message scrawled in black marker — when Columbia’s public safety officers spotted the damage around 12:50 a.m., police said.

Columbia’s current interim president, Katrina Armstrong, lives in the building, sources said.

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Columbia University Student Activist Detained by Department of Homeland Security Following Threats of Deportation of Pro-Palestinian Students

Posted on by neversleep

The arrest comes on the heels of the Department of State’s announcement that it plans to deport students affiliated with pro-Palestine protests. The student, who is Palestinian, is a lawful permanent resident of the United States.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK—On March 8, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and recent graduate student at Columbia University, at his place of residence, an apartment building owned by the university.

The DHS agents said that the U.S. Department of State had revoked Khalil’s green card.

At approximately 8:30 p.m. ET, Khalil and his wife, a U.S. citizen who is eight months pregnant, had just unlocked the door to their building when two plainclothes DHS agents forced their way in behind them. The agents initially refused to identify themselves, instead asking Khalil to confirm his identity before detaining him without explanation. The agents proceeded to threaten his wife, telling her that if she remained by his side, they would arrest her too.

Later, the DHS agents stated that the U.S. Department of State had revoked Khalil’s student visa, despite the fact that he has a green card, not a visa, and is a lawful permanent resident. An agent showed Khalil what he claimed was a warrant on his phone. Khalil’s wife went into their apartment to retrieve his green card while the agents remained with Khalil downstairs. When she returned, advising them of Khalil’s legal status and presenting them with Khalil’s green card, one agent was visibly confused and said on the phone, “He has a green card.” However, after a moment, the DHS agents stated that the State Department had “revoked that too.” Khalil’s wife then phoned his attorney, who spoke with the agents in an attempt to intervene. When Khalil’s attorney requested that a copy of the warrant be emailed to her, the agent hung up the call.

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