US judge rules Mahmoud Khalil can be deported for his views [View all]
Source: The Guardian
Fri 11 Apr 2025 16.09 EDT
Last modified on Fri 11 Apr 2025 16.34 EDT
Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate and Palestinian organizer, is eligible to be deported from the United States, an immigration judge ruled on Friday during a contentious hearing at a remote court in central Louisiana.
The decision sides with the Trump administration’s claim that a short memo written by secretary of state Marco Rubio, which stated Khalil’s “beliefs and associations” were counter to foreign policy interests, is sufficient evidence to remove a lawful permanent resident from the United States.
The undated memo, the main piece of evidence submitted by the government, contained no allegations of criminal conduct. During a tense hearing on Friday afternoon, Khalil’s attorneys made an array of unsuccessful arguments attempting to both delay a ruling on his eligibility for removal and to terminate proceedings entirely. They argued the broad allegations contained in Rubio’s memo gave them a right to directly cross-examine him.
Khalil held prayer beads as attorneys for three attorneys for the Department of Homeland Security presented arguments for his removal. Judge Jamee Comans ruled that Rubio’s determination was “presumptive and sufficient evidence” and that she had no power to rule on concerns over free speech. “There is no indication that Congress contemplated an immigration judge or even the attorney general overruling the secretary of state on matters of foreign policy,” Comans said. A supporter was in tears on the crowded public benches as the ruling was delivered.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/11/mahmoud-khalil-deportation-ruling-immigration
Article updated.
Original article -
Last modified on Fri 11 Apr 2025 16.10 EDT
Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate and Palestinian organizer, is eligible to be deported from the United States, an immigration judge ruled on Friday during a contentious hearing at a remote court in central Louisiana.
The decision sides with the Trump administration’s claim that a short memo written by secretary of state Marco Rubio, which stated Khalil’s “beliefs and associations” were counter to foreign policy interests, is sufficient evidence to remove a lawful permanent resident from the United States.
The undated memo, the main piece of evidence submitted by the government, contained no allegations of criminal conduct. During a tense hearing on Friday afternoon, Khalil’s attorneys made an array of unsuccessful arguments attempting to both delay a ruling on his eligibility for removal and to terminate proceedings entirely. They argued the broad allegations contained in Rubio’s memo gave them a right to directly cross-examine him.
Khalil held prayer beads as attorneys for three attorneys for the Department of Homeland Security presented arguments for his removal. Judge Jamee Comans ruled that Rubio’s determination was “presumptive and sufficient evidence” and that she had no power to rule on concerns over free speech. “There is no indication that Congress contemplated an immigration judge or even the attorney general overruling the secretary of state on matters of foreign policy,” Comans said. A supporter was in tears on the crowded public benches as the rule was delivered.
= new reply since forum marked as read