While an immigration judge’s ruling that Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil – a legal permanent resident – can be deported is a victory for the Trump administration, the legal battle against his detention and deportation is far from over.
The decision by Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Jamee Comans in Louisiana on Friday came after the federal government submitted what it said was evidence alleging Khalil’s “beliefs, statements or associations” made him deportable.
The judge ruled the Palestinian activist’s presence posed “potentially serious foreign policy consequences,” agreeing with a two-page memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier in the week accusing Khalil of undermining “U.S. policy to combat anti-Semitism” without citing any allegations of criminal activity.
A “removability finding” in immigration court means the judge has determined the individual is subject to removal from the United States due to a violation of immigration law or lack of legal immigration status. Khalil’s attorneys said they will appeal.
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“We don’t think this is the final word at all,” Marc Van Der Hout, an immigration attorney for Khalil, told CNN after the ruling, referring in part to a separate legal challenge in federal court in New Jersey on grounds that he is being targeted for constitutionally protected free speech.
Khalil has separate court cases playing out in two states – the Louisiana case is focused on his deportation order and the New Jersey case is focused on his habeas petition challenging the legality of his detention.
Ad Feedback Immigration officers arrested Khalil last month outside his Columbia University apartment following a deportation order from the Trump administration. Khalil, who is married to a US citizen, is a prominent Palestinian activist who played a central role in protests against Israel’s war in Gaza on the Ivy League campus last year. After his detention, Khalil was flown by the government to an immigration detention center in Louisiana.
The case has become a symbol of the Trump administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses. Here’s a look at what could happen next:
Immigration case moves to ‘relief’ stage Khalil’s attorneys said they will challenge Friday’s ruling before the Board of Immigration Appeals, and will likely file an asylum case on his behalf.
“We move on now into what’s called the relief stage, where Mahmoud can present certain applications to defend against removal, and we’re set to file additional evidence and applications by April 23,” Johnny Sinodis, an immigration attorney for Khalil, said Friday. “We foresee that this case will require at least a few more hearings in immigration court before … a final decision is made, at which point there could be appeals.”
Van Der Hout, in a conference call Friday with a federal judge in the New Jersey court where they’re also fighting for his release, said Khalil will likely apply for asylum.
video Related video Judge rules Mahmoud Khalil is ‘removable’ from the U.S.
“He is entitled to file for relief in the form of asylum withholding removal,” Van Der Hout told the judge. “So nothing’s going to happen quickly in the immigration proceedings, even though she’s found him removable on the foreign policy ground.”
The Trump administration is attempting to limit asylum claims in the US, an effort that is also under litigation right now.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, an immigrant advocacy group, said on social media the decision on Khalil’s application for relief from removal – whether granted or denied – will likely end up before the Board of Immigration Appeals.
“Neither the immigration judge nor the Board of Immigration Appeals is authorized to hear his arguments that the Trump (administration) is violating the First Amendment here,” Reichlin-Melnick wrote on X. “If he loses at the BIA, he can make those arguments to a federal circuit court on a second round of appeals.”
Khalil keeps his green card and can’t be deported, Reichlin-Melnick wrote, until he loses at the appeals board and his removal order becomes final.
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“The timeline depends entirely on whether he remains detained. If yes, it could be 1-2 years until a circuit court weighs in. If released, it could be 5-7 years,” Reichlin-Melnick wrote.
Khalil’s legal team expects several more immigration hearings will be held before a final decision is made, after which they can make an appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
“Today, we saw our worst fears play out: Mahmoud was subject to a charade of due process, a flagrant violation of his right to a fair hearing, and a weaponization of immigration law to suppress dissent,” Van Der Hout said in a statement.
Separate case plays out in a New Jersey federal court Khalil’s attorneys have filed multiple petitions challenging the legality of his arrest and detention before US District Court Judge Michael Farbiarz in New Jersey, where Khalil was detained before his transfer to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Jena, Louisiana.
Farbiarz told attorneys in a phone conference Friday he’s still deciding whether he has the jurisdiction over the claims filed by Khalil’s legal team – including a habeas corpus motion, one requesting his return to the New York area, and another asking for his release on bail.
The attorneys will continue to seek bail and a preliminary injunction that would release him from custody while his immigration case proceeds, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
“What happened in immigration court today only confirms the need for the federal court to really intervene and make a decision in this case, because the immigration court made clear today that it won’t, and it believes it can’t,” ACLU lawyer Amy Belsher, who is part of Khalil’s legal team, said Friday.
Related article Mahmoud Khalil’s case to remain in New Jersey after judge denies US government’s bid to move it
Donna Lieberman, the head of the New York Civil Liberties Union, told CNN Friday that Khalil will get a fairer hearing in New Jersey.
“I think that the government was pretty clear that it wanted to get Mahmoud Khalil out of New York City, out of New Jersey and into friendlier territory. That’s why they spirited him off in the middle of the night to Louisiana,” she said.
Reichlin-Melnick added on X: “The long story short; the case is not even remotely over yet. There is still a long path forward through multiple different stages before the Trump (administration) succeeds in stripping him of his green card.”
