A federal immigration judge has ruled that Mahmoud Khalil, a Syrian national and Columbia University graduate, can be deported from the United States following his involvement in leading anti-Israel protests at Columbia last year.
The decision marks a major step in the Trump administration’s broader push to crack down on foreign nationals participating in what it calls “extremist political activism” on U.S. soil.
Judge Jamee Comans issued the ruling from Louisiana on Friday, concluding that the federal government had met its legal threshold for removal.
Khalil, 30, was detained by ICE in early March and is accused of leading demonstrations that allegedly promoted antisemitism and disrupted the educational environment for Jewish students.
Khalil, who has maintained his innocence, sharply criticized the ruling, stating in court: “What we witnessed today lacked due process and fundamental fairness… This is exactly why the Trump administration sent me to this court, 1,000 miles away from my family.”
His legal team has until April 23 to file for relief to halt the deportation. But the court’s decision follows a letter from Secretary of State Marco Rubio—acting under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952—stating that Khalil’s continued presence in the U.S. “would