U.S. Judge Permits Trump Administration to Deport Student from Columbia University
A U.S. immigration judge determined on Friday that the Trump administration has the authority to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student from Columbia University. The judge's ruling is based on the assertion that Khalil poses a threat to U.S. foreign policy because of his participation in last year's pro-Palestinian protests on campus.
TroibNews 
A U.S. immigration judge decided on Friday that the Trump administration is permitted to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia University, citing his involvement in pro-Palestinian protests on campus last year as a threat to U.S. foreign policy.
Judge Jamee Comans issued the ruling during a hearing at the LaSalle Immigration Court in Jena, Louisiana, stating, "the court will sustain charge of removability." He also set a deadline of April 23 for Khalil and his legal team to submit applications for relief to prevent his deportation.
After the ruling, Khalil spoke to the court, asserting, "There's nothing more important than due process and fundamental fairness... Neither of those principles were present today."
He further remarked, "This is exactly why the Trump administration has sent me to this court 1,000 miles away from my family. I hope your urgency for this is to the thousands of people here in this facility."
Khalil, who holds a green card and has no criminal record, was arrested at a university-owned apartment complex in New York City on March 8 and subsequently moved to an immigration detention center located in a southern coastal state.
In response to Khalil's arrest, U.S. President Donald Trump used his Truth Social platform to label Khalil a "Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student" and remarked, "This is the first arrest of many to come."
"We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again," Trump added.
Khalil and his attorneys deny any affiliations or support for Hamas. Nonetheless, the Trump administration has referenced a little-used clause from the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act, which authorizes the secretary of state to deport noncitizens whose presence is deemed a danger to U.S. foreign policy.
Recent data from the Association of International Educators, a nonprofit organization focusing on global education, shows that nearly 1,000 international students and scholars have had their visas revoked or their immigration status labeled as terminated in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, a federal database. Many of these individuals were reportedly engaged in pro-Palestinian protests across the nation last year.
Ramin Sohrabi for TROIB News
Judge Jamee Comans issued the ruling during a hearing at the LaSalle Immigration Court in Jena, Louisiana, stating, "the court will sustain charge of removability." He also set a deadline of April 23 for Khalil and his legal team to submit applications for relief to prevent his deportation.
After the ruling, Khalil spoke to the court, asserting, "There's nothing more important than due process and fundamental fairness... Neither of those principles were present today."
He further remarked, "This is exactly why the Trump administration has sent me to this court 1,000 miles away from my family. I hope your urgency for this is to the thousands of people here in this facility."
Khalil, who holds a green card and has no criminal record, was arrested at a university-owned apartment complex in New York City on March 8 and subsequently moved to an immigration detention center located in a southern coastal state.
In response to Khalil's arrest, U.S. President Donald Trump used his Truth Social platform to label Khalil a "Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student" and remarked, "This is the first arrest of many to come."
"We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again," Trump added.
Khalil and his attorneys deny any affiliations or support for Hamas. Nonetheless, the Trump administration has referenced a little-used clause from the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act, which authorizes the secretary of state to deport noncitizens whose presence is deemed a danger to U.S. foreign policy.
Recent data from the Association of International Educators, a nonprofit organization focusing on global education, shows that nearly 1,000 international students and scholars have had their visas revoked or their immigration status labeled as terminated in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, a federal database. Many of these individuals were reportedly engaged in pro-Palestinian protests across the nation last year.
Ramin Sohrabi for TROIB News
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