Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who the Trump administration has targeted for deportation after he helped organize pro-Palestinian protests as a student at Columbia University, is set to appear in immigration court in Louisiana Thursday.
Khalil, a green card holder who is married to an American citizen, has been held in a Louisiana detention facility since ICE agents arrested him in the lobby of his apartment building in New York City in March.
Khalil’s attorneys are prepared to argue on a number of issues before the court, including his pending request for asylum, their motion to dismiss the case because they allege he was illegally detained without a warrant, their motion for continuance, and the second set of charges that the Department of Homeland Security claims makes him deportable, which center around their accusation that he lied on his green card application.
But ultimately the decision of what to discuss at the hearing will be up to Immigration Judge Jamee Comans, who last month ruled Khalil deportable based on Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s assertion that his continued presence and actions in the country poses “adverse foreign policy consequence.”
She did not ask to review any evidence backing those claims.
Comans has not yet ruled on the second set of allegations regarding his green card application, which Khalil’s lawyers say are largely based on conservative tabloids. They recently submitted several documents and declarations from his previous employers that they say prove he did not misrepresent his employment history.
Student negotiator Mahmoud Khalil is seen at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the Columbia University campus in New York, April 29, 2024.
Ted Shaffrey/AP, FILE
Khalil himself may also testify about why he believes his life could be at risk if he is denied asylum or if he is deported to Algeria or Syria as the government says it wants to do.
Ahead of the hearing, Khalil’s attorney submitted over 600 pages of documents, declarations, and expert analyses supporting their claim that he is not antisemitic and that he could face torture and death if he were to be deported.
Khalil’s wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, who recently gave birth to the couple’s son, was expected to attend the hearing. It would be the first time Khalil will see his son in person after he was born on April 21.
On Wednesday, Khalil’s lawyers asked a federal judge to intervene and allow Khalil, his wife, and newborn son to meet without plexiglass separating them. The judge ordered the facility to allow Khalil, his wife, and counsel to meet together to discuss his habeas petition.
