(NewsNation) — An immigration judge is set to rule whether pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student and lawful permanent resident, can be deported from the United States.
The White House submitted a two-page memo as its main evidence in the case, citing the administration’s authority to expel noncitizens whose presence in the country damages U.S. foreign policy interests.
The memo, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, does not allege any criminal conduct by Khalil, stating his campus activities were “otherwise lawful” but that letting him remain in the country would undermine U.S. efforts to combat antisemitism.
“Condoning anti-Semitic conduct and disruptive protests in the United States would severely undermine that significant foreign policy objective,” Rubio wrote.
Attorneys for Khalil said the memo proved the Trump administration was “targeting Mahmoud’s free speech rights about Palestine.”
“After a month of hiding the ball since Mahmoud’s late-night unjust arrest in New York and taking him away to a remote detention center in Louisiana, immigration authorities have finally admitted that they have no case whatsoever against him,” attorneys Marc Van Der Hout and Johnny Sinodis said in a joint statement.
“There is not a single shred of proof that Mahmoud’s presence in America poses any threat,” they said.
Where is Mahmoud Khalil?
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested Khalil in early March, and the 30-year-old graduate student has remained in a Louisiana detention center ever since.
Khalil, who was born in Syria and raised in a Palestinian refugee camp, helped lead pro-Palestinian protests on Columbia’s campus last year. He holds legal permanent resident status in the U.S.
The U.S. is making the case to deport Khalil under President Donald Trump’s executive order prohibiting antisemitism on college campuses.
According to Khalil’s lawyer Amy Greer, arresting ICE officers said his student visa had been revoked under Trump’s order.
When Khalil proved he was not in the country on a student visa but rather as a legal permanent resident, the officers said that was also revoked, Greer said. The federal government has now accused Khalil of lying on his green card application, among other charges.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.