An immigration judge in the US state of Louisiana has ordered the deportation of pro-Palestinian protest leader Mahmoud Khalil to Algeria or Syria, ruling that he failed to disclose information on his green card application, according to court documents filed on Wednesday.
Khalil’s lawyers said they intended to appeal against the deportation order, and that a federal district court’s separate orders remain in effect prohibiting the government from immediately deporting or detaining him as his federal court case proceeds. The lawyers submitted a letter to the federal court in New Jersey overseeing his civil rights case and said he will challenge the decision.
Khalil, in a statement to the American Civil Liberties Union, said in response to the order: “It is no surprise that the Trump administration continues to retaliate against me for my exercise of free speech. Their latest attempt, through a kangaroo immigration court, exposes their true colors once again.”
The order dated 12 September by the immigration judge asserted the lack of full disclosure on Khalil’s green card application “was not an oversight by an uninformed, uneducated applicant … rather, this court finds that respondent wilfully misrepresented material fact(s)”.
“It is hereby further ordered that respondent be removed from the United States to Algeria, or in the alternative to Syria,” wrote the judge, Jamee Comans.
Khalil, a legal permanent resident of the United States, who is married to a US citizen and has a US-born son, was detained for three months beginning in March and faced potential deportation. His wife was pregnant at the time and Khalil missed the birth of their child while in jail.
A former Columbia University student who was one of the most visible leaders of nationwide pro-Palestinian campus protests, Khalil was released from custody in June, but has faced the continued threat of deportation from federal authorities.
Donald Trump’s administration has cracked down on pro-Palestinian protesters such as Khalil, calling them antisemitic and supporters of extremism.
Protest groups, including some Jewish groups, say that criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories is not antisemitism, and advocacy for Palestinians is not support for extremism.
With Agence France-Presse and Reuters
