A Louisiana immigration judge says Mahmoud Khalil can be deported

 

A Louisiana immigration judge says Mahmoud Khalil can be deported

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A Louisiana immigration judge said Friday that – a legal permanent resident – can be deported after the United States government argued his presence posed “potentially serious foreign policy consequences.”

The decision by Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Jamee Comans comes after the federal government submitted evidence to the court on Wednesday, including afrom Secretary of State Marco Rubio alleging Khalil is deportable because of his “beliefs, statements or associations” that would compromise US foreign policy interests.

Khalil’s attorneys said the judge’s decision was solely based on Rubio’s memo – which contained no allegations of criminal activity – and was a violation of the graduate’s constitutional right to free speech that sets a harmful precedent.ads4

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. “This is a blatant violation of the First Amendment and a dangerous precedent for anyone who believes in free speech and political expressi

A “removability finding” in immigration court means the judge has determined the individual is subject to removal from the United States due to a violation of immigration law or lack of legal immigration status. Khalil’s attorneys are expected to appeal the ruling.

From left to right, Badar Khan Suri, Rümeysa Öztürk and Mahmoud Khalil

Khalil was arrested last month by federal agents outside of his apartment on the campus of Columbia University following a deportation order from the Trump administration. Khalil, who is married to a US citizen, is a prominent Palestinian activist and played a central role in protests against Israel’s war in Gaza on the Ivy League campus last year.

Khalil’s attorneys have challenged the accusations against him in federal and immigration court, saying he is being targeted over his pro-Palestine activism.

At the end of Friday’s hearing, Khalil told the court he hasn’t been granted “due process rights and fundamental fairness,” according to a news release from the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing him in the cas

“Neither of these principles were present today or in this whole process,” Khalil said. “This is exactly why the Trump administration has sent me to this court, 1,000 miles away from my family

Noor Abdalla, Khalil’s wife, said her husband is being imprisoned for his pro-Palestine advocac

“My husband is a political prisoner who is being deprived of his rights because he believes Palestinians deserve equal dignity and freedom,” she said in a statement that was read during Friday’s briefing. “There is nothing the government can say about my husband that can silence this truth

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Khalil is among the first of a string of students or faculty members at college campuses across the country – living in the US as permanent residents or through work or student visas – who have been detained by federal agents as part of the administration’s immigration crackdown. More than 500 students, faculty and researchers have had their visas revoked this year.

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Khalil’s lawyers will continue to challenge deportation

Khalil’s legal team on Friday called into question the judge basing her decision on Rubio’s memo, which they said “makes extremely broad claims.”

The attorneys had made several requests with the immigration court – including filing a motion to see evidence supporting Rubio’s finding, a continuance request to continue arguing against the deportation order and a motion to file a waiver to contest his removal. All three motions were denied, his attorneys said.ads9

“Today, we saw our worst fears play out: Mahmoud was subject to a charade of due process, a flagrant violation of his right to a fair hearing, and a weaponization of immigration law to suppress dissent,” Marc van der Hout, an immigration attorney for Khalil, said in a statement Friday.ads1

Khalil’s lawyers will continue to challenge his deportation. Comens gave them until April 23 to submitThe team expects several more immigration hearings will be held before a final decision is made, after which they can make an appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals.

As Khalil’s immigration attorneys plan their next steps, a separate case in federal court in New Jersey will continue to play out. Khalil’s attorneys have filed multiple petitions challenging the legality of his arrest and detentio

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Federal district court Judge Michael Farbiarz, who is overseeing Khalil’s case in New Jersey, told attorneys in a phone conference Friday that he is still deciding whether he has the jurisdiction over the claims filed by Khalil’s legal team – including a habeas corpus motion, a motion to bring him back to the New York area, and a motion to release him on baia

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Khalil’s team will continue to seek bail and a preliminary injunction that would release him from custody while his immigration case proceeds, according to the news release from the ACL

“What happened in immigration court today only confirms the need for the federal court to really intervene and make a decision in this case, because the immigration court made clear today that it won’t, and it believes it can’t,” ACLU lawyer Amy Belsher, one of Khalil’s attorneys, said Frida

Friday’s ruling could have a chilling effect on free speech at colleges and universities in the US, Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, constitutional law professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told CNN Friday.y.U.l.n.

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