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JENA, Louisiana – An immigration judge in Louisiana ruled on Friday that Palestinian student protest leader Mahmoud Khalil can be deported on the basis of a letter from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that says he has personally determined Khalil poses “adverse foreign policy consequences” to the US.
Khalil, clean-cut but pale, with ACLU attorney Nora Ahmed at his side, listened as Judge Jamee Comans said the Trump administration’s evidence – which primarily relied on a two-page letter from Rubio – was sufficient to deport him under a rarely used legal provision in immigration law.
“There is no indication that Congress contemplated an immigration judge or even an attorney general overruling the Secretary of State on matters of foreign policy,” said Judge Comans as she made her ruling. One supporter in the courtroom began to cry as the judge announced her decision.
The case is widely seen as a bellwether for whether the government can deport people for constitutionally protected speech, with momentous implications. Khalil, a green card holder, has been detained at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center in rural Jena, Louisiana, since he was arrested by immigration authorities on March 8 at his Columbia University-owned housing in New York.
Khalil has not been charged with a crime. Instead, the Trump administration alleged that his presence poses adverse “foreign policy consequences.” It later added an allegation that Khalil obtained his visa by misrepresentation in not mentioning his work for an office of the British Embassy and membership in two organizations.
Khalil’s lawyers argue that he is being targeted over constitutionally protected speech criticizing the US and Israeli governments over the war in Gaza and the treatment of Palestinians. Khalil will not immediately be deported; his attorneys have until April 23 to file evidence supporting why he should have relief from deportation.
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