Mahmoud Khalil one step closer to deportation after ruling from immigration judge

(CN) — Mahmoud Khalil is in danger of being removed from the United States after an immigration judge ruled against him using what he claims are “baseless and ridiculous” accusations from the federal government.

The Palestinian activist is now looking to a federal judge in New Jersey to intervene. Khalil penned a letter on Wednesday to U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz — the same judge who released him from three months of Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody over the summer.

In the memo, Khalil revealed that the Louisiana judge handling his immigration case relied on accusations from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who classified Khalil’s presence in the country a threat to the country on the basis of his pro-Palestinian activism.

“The most obvious negative factor here is the letter from the United States Secretary of State finding that the respondent’s presence in the United States has potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States,” U.S. Immigration Judge Jamee Comans wrote in a ruling from September 12.

Comans denied Khalil’s request for a waiver of removability, which would have prevented the government from fulfilling its goal of deporting Khalil to either Algeria or Syria. Without that waiver, Khalil says he is one step closer to being separated from his wife and newborn child in New York City.

In a statement, Khalil chided Comans’ ruling and insisted that she merely accepted as fact several misrepresentations that the Trump administration made about him.

“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,” Khalil said Wednesday. “When their first effort to deport me was set to fail, they resorted to fabricating baseless and ridiculous allegations in a bid to silence me for speaking out and standing firmly with Palestine, demanding an end to the ongoing genocide. Such fascist tactics will never deter me from continuing to advocate for my people’s liberation.”

Khalil, a green card holder whose wife is an American citizen, was arrested in March by ICE agents at his apartment building in Manhattan. The Trump administration vowed to deport him using a rarely used provision in immigration law that allows for a noncitizen’s deportation if their presence in the U.S. compromises foreign policy.

Farbiarz, the Joe Biden appointee overseeing Khalil’s habeas corpus challenge to his arrest, ruled that this was an “unconstitutionally vague” reason to seek Khalil’s removal and ordered him released.

After that ruling, however, the government claimed that Khalil also lied on his application for permanent residency by failing to disclose that he interned for UNRWA, a United Nations relief agency that supports Palestinian refugees. Khalil holds that this was a reactionary effort from the government to keep his deportation case alive, but Comans used it as the crux of her ruling against him.

“The respondent is an intelligent, Ivy-League educated individual,” the immigration judge wrote. “This court further finds that the respondent understood the consequences and that the candid disclosure of his affiliations might lead to an additional line of questioning and the ultimate denial of his application for conditional permanent residency.”

Comans acknowledged a few positive factors for Khalil that weighed in her decisionmaking: Khalil has an infant son — born while he was detained in a Louisiana ICE facility — has no criminal history and was revered by peers for his character in letters to the court.

But Comans also said the government’s accusations against him outweigh those positives, as do Khalil’s lack of meaningful employment or business ties in the United States.

Her ruling was attached to Khalil’s Wednesday letter to Farbiarz, which outlined Khalil’s intent to challenge the immigration ruling in his habeas case. Farbiarz has already blocked the federal government from deporting Khalil until the end of the habeas case, seemingly the final protection Khalil has from being removed.

“The only meaningful impediment to petitioner’s physical removal from the United States would be this court’s important order prohibiting removal during the pendency of his federal habeas case,” Khalil wrote in the letter. “And nothing would preserve his lawful permanent resident status.”

Khalil says he was targeted by the Trump administration for his leadership role at Columbia University’s pro-Palestine demonstrations last spring. Then a grad student, Khalil was a lead negotiator for student protestors, who sought to get Columbia to divest assets from Israel amid its bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip.

Several other lawful student residents have also been detained by ICE for their participation in similar movements. Federal courts have since ordered their release, too.

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