Former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil may soon be headed to either Algeria or Syria following the ruling of a federal immigration judge.
Khalil’s lawyers are challenging Judge Jamee Comans’ decision last week, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which published unsealed court filings on Wednesday.
The judge ruled that Khalil can be deported and that the legal permanent resident did not reveal an internship with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) on his U.S. green card application. He also reportedly did not disclose any connection with Columbia University Apartheid Divest, an anti-Israel group on campus.
(Video Credit: CBS News New York)
“The evidence shows the Respondent knew of the potential immigration consequences for his involvement in protests organized by varying organizations on campus, including CUAD,” the judge wrote.
“The waiver was not designed to reward a lack of candor by applicants admitted as immigrant visa holders who then intentionally engage in dishonesty by misrepresenting facts in the application process to adjust status, post entry,” Comans stated.
Khalil’s “lack of candor on his I-485 form was not an oversight by an uninformed, uneducated applicant,” the judge ruled.
“Rather, this Court finds that Respondent willfully misrepresented material fact(s) for the sole purpose of circumventing the immigration process and reducing the likelihood his applications could be denied. This Court cannot and will not condone such an action by granting a discretionary waiver,” Comans said.
BREAKING:
A judge has just ruled that Mahmoud Khalil must be deported back to Syria or Algeria.
By deporting him back to the Middle East, we are quite literally bringing him home.
Mahmoud: you hated America and all she stands for, so this should be welcoming news for you. pic.twitter.com/MDZYzYRWN8
— Shabbos Kestenbaum (@ShabbosK) September 17, 2025
Khalil spent more than three months in detention in Louisiana until U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz, who temporarily blocked his deportation, released him. The anti-Israel activist was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) back in March.
His attorneys argued that Conans “rushed to a decision without providing a hearing on the evidence as due process requires, engaging in multiple procedural irregularities, and choosing to believe the false charges made after the fact by the government,” according to the ACLU press release.
“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 in a statement. “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.”
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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