The American government led by President Donald Trump is abandoning the deportation proceedings against the pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil not loose. After another court decision in the case, Khalil now faces being arrested again and deported to North Africa.
“It looks like he’s going to Algeria. That’s the assumption at the moment,” said Tricia McLaughlin, spokeswoman for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in an interview with US broadcaster NewsNation on Thursday.
On January 15, a three-judge appeals court overturned the last-instance ruling in a narrow 2-1 decision. A judge ruled at the time that Khalil’s arrest last year was unlawful and his immediate release required. The appeal court now ruled that the judge at the time had exceeded his legal jurisdiction with the verdict.
The 30-year-old Khalil became a symbolic figure in the nationwide student protests against the Israeli government’s war in the Gaza Strip after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. When a wave of protests began at many US universities in the spring of 2024, he was enrolled as a student at the prestigious Columbia University in New York. Khalil himself is of Palestinian descent, holds an Algerian passport and was born in a refugee camp in Syria.
Government accuses Khalil of being close to Hamas
After Khalil was identified by pro-Israel groups as one of the “leading instigators” of the protests, the US government became involved. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a letter that his legal residency status should be revoked because his political activism and participation in anti-Semitic protests had “negative consequences” for U.S. foreign policy. The government also accused Khalil of being a supporter of the terrorist group Hamas and of providing false information on his green card application.
“We will revoke the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported,” Rubio said in a post on X just a day after Khalil’s arrest.
In total, Khalil spent 104 days in prison before being released on bail in June 2025. During this time, he not only missed his graduation ceremony at New York University, but also the birth of his first child.
However, just a few months later, an immigration court ruled in favor of the government and declared that the accused could be deported to Algeria or Syria. According to the judge, Khalil withheld information about an internship he completed at the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) when applying for a green card.
Support from Mamdani
Khalil’s lawyers deny all allegations. New York’s new left Mayor Zohran Mamdani supports Khalil in the fight against his deportation.
“Mahmoud Khalil is a New Yorker. He should stay in New York City. I see this attack on him as part of a larger attack on freedom of speech, which is particularly evident when that freedom of speech is used to advocate for human rights,” Mamdani said.
In a statement to the Columbia Spectator Khalil’s legal team explained that the government is not allowed to detain or deport their client at this time because the appeal process is ongoing.
According to DHS spokeswoman McLaughlin, all foreign nationals legally residing in the United States should take Khalil’s case as a warning: “It is a privilege, not a right, to live or study in this country.”