Palestinian student will be deported!
New York, Apr 11 (EFE). –
A United States federal judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration can proceed with the deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian student who led protests at Columbia University against the war in Gaza.
Louisiana Judge Jamee Comans claimed that Khalil could be deported because of “beliefs, statements, or associations” that could harm US foreign policy interests.
Comans was to decide whether Khalil, who has been detained for more than a month, should be released or deported as requested by Rubio, who based his request on the student’s alleged “anti-Semitic” behavior.
The Louisiana judge has given Khalil’s defenders until Apr. 23 to appeal the ruling, warning that if they fail to do so, he will order his deportation to Syria (where he lived before coming to the United States) or Algeria, a country of which he is also a national.
Khalil’s legal team said the Louisiana judge’s decision violated his constitutional rights and set a harmful precedent.
“Despite the government’s failure to prove that Mahmoud broke any law, the court has decided that lawful permanent residents can have their status revoked for pro-Palestine advocacy,” Khalil’s legal team said at a press conference following the hearing.
The judge on Wednesday asked government lawyers to present evidence to support the decision to deport Khalil, 30, who was arrested in New York on Mar. 8 after his residency was revoked.
In Khalil’s case, Donald Trump’s administration has used immigration weapons (denying him the rights that come with a green card) to justify political reasons, since what they accuse him of is his pro-Palestinian activism.
Various organizations have denounced what this means for suppression of public freedoms, the right to dissent, and freedom of expression. EFE rh/mcd
