Mahmoud Khalil Ordered to be Deported by Immigration Judge

Read our editorial on politically-motivated deportations here, and on the increasing reactionization of the state here.

Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil has been ordered to be deported to Syria or Algeria by immigration Judge Jamee Comans in a September 12 ruling over claims that Khalil omitted information on his green card application. However, the ruling made by federal Judge Michael E. Farbiarz in June prohibiting the government from deporting or detaining Khalil remains in effect, legally preventing his deportation at least until his appeal. Khalil and his legal team have only 30 days to appeal the latest decision—if the appeal is rejected, his permanent residency status will be revoked and he will be subject to deportation.

Khalil was originally detained in March 2025 in what was one of the first high-profile politically-motivated deportation cases under the current Trump administration, with many more soon to follow. Khalil had been active in the Palestine Solidarity Movement at Columbia University, and was a recent graduate at the time of his detention. While being held in federal detention in Louisiana for three months, he was prevented by the government from attending his son’s birth.

Khalil’s case is currently being contested in two courts: a federal court in New Jersey, where Judge Farbiarz is handling constitutional and civil issues related to Khalil’s detention, and an immigration court in Louisiana overseen by Judge Comans.

The federal court initially determined that the government’s March justification for Khalil’s detention was likely unconstitutional on free speech and due process grounds, and it barred both detention and deportation, securing his release in June. After months of nationwide demonstrations demanding his release, the ruling culminated in a victory for the Palestine Solidarity Movement and a setback for the ultra-reactionary Trump administration.

Now, Judge Comans again held that Khalil could be deported, this time based on alleged misrepresentations in his residency application. The Trump administration has accused Khalil of neglecting to disclose his work with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which assists Palestinian refugees, as well involvement with Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD). Khalil’s lawyers countered that the UNRWA role was an internship through Columbia and that Khalil was a mediator in CUAD, not a member, and took on the role after applying for permanent residency.

Khalil’s legal team submitted a letter to Judge Farbiarz saying the deportation order issued to him is evidence of retaliation by the US government for “standing against an ongoing genocide in Palestine,” and noted that it is rare for an immigration judge to deny a waiver to a lawful permanent resident with an American spouse and child, no criminal record, and strong community ties.

Following the ruling, Khalil stated that the Trump administration was resorting 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.”

The ongoing battle has been a flash point in the reactionization of the state, which increasingly concentrates power around the executive branch while eroding democratic rights, and the masses’ resistance to this, which has so far succeeded in preventing Khalil’s deportation.

Photo retrieved from Justice4Mahmoud on Instagram.

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