Federal judge Jamee Comans has ruled that Mahmoud Khalil, a Syrian National, is removable under immigration law.
Khalil was a student at Columbia University and the president of the CUAD (Columbia University Apartheid Divest, an anti-Israel organization with ties to Hamas).
He was arrested in March after organizing violent, pro-terrorism and pro-Hamas riots at Columbia University in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks. He is in the country on a student visa and obtained a Green Card.
The Trump administration did not present any evidence of criminality on the part of Khalil but maintained that the government retains the power to remove aliens – even those with permanent residency – under the Immigration and Naturalization acts.
According to legal scholar Johnathan Turley, the administration’s strategy here was to prove the government has the power to remove immigrants under statute and wanted to do that without entering any details of Khalil’s case specifically. They were successful in that.
Khalil has until April 23 to appeal the decision.