Mahmoud Khalil Can Be Deported, According to Louisiana Immigration Judge, While Hundreds More Have Visas Revoked

Irina Park

On Friday, April 11, an immigration judge in Jena, Louisiana determined that Columbia University graduate and Palestine solidarity activist Mahmoud Khalil could be deported based on his advocacy for Palestine, amid the ongoing repression and crackdown by the Trump administration on the Palestine Solidarity Movement. This case has already set a precedent for further escalations in detentions, arrests, and deportations of students and workers.

There is a lengthy fight ahead for Khalil and his legal team, either in an immigration court, where Khalil could apply for asylum, appeal the ruling, and pursue further appeals within the US circuit court, or a federal district court. Khalil’s attorneys will continue to argue in New Jersey in federal district court for his release on free speech grounds—a resolution which could take days or weeks. Meanwhile, the mass movement continues to demand his release, with demonstrations taking place across the country in his defense.

Judge Jamee Comans made the ruling on Friday following the submission of a brief memo signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, citing the Trump administration’s ability to deport noncitizens whose “presence or activities would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.” It also stated that “for cases in which the basis for this determination is the alien’s past, current, or expected beliefs, statements, or associations that are otherwise lawful, the Secretary of State must personally determine that the presence or activities would compromise a foreign policy interest.” In other words, Khalil is being deported for his heroism and courage in defense of Palestine—deemed a threat to the US’s genocidal imperialist policies.

Over the past few weeks, hundreds of international students had their visas revoked, sparking anger of mass detentions and deportations on campuses. The University of California had dozens of cases reported across its campuses, and at least 96 across the state. Two international students at these colleges sued the federal government after their visas were revoked for misdemeanor convictions, which do not ordinarily rise to deportation. At Dartmouth, a computer science student from China, Xiaotian Liu, received an email from Dartmouth informing him that DHS had terminated his student status and now faces detention and deportation. The American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Liu sued the Trump administration, citing he had never committed a crime or traffic violation or participated in any protest, and no reason has been given for the termination. The ACLU of Michigan also filed a suit last week on behalf of four international students who attend Michigan schools after their F-1 student visas were revoked, citing violations of due process and no reason being given for the terminations. Several students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have experienced the same treatment. Marco Rubio announced the revocations in late March stating, “We do it every day. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas.”

Getting organized is the best weapon against reaction and imperialism. Democratic rights and bourgeois legality are increasingly limited, constrained, and rotten as imperialism continues to decay; the only recourse left for the masses is to combat and resist state terror, which is increasingly taken up by students and working people as they combine their struggles against deportations. While the state can manipulate its own laws to serve its immediate political aims, the masses of people are able to impose a high cost on the imperialist class and its profits when unified in their resistance, forcing concessions through rebellion.

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