NEW YORK (AP) — Three months after his release from an immigration jail, Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil is facing the growing threat of deportation for his role in campus protests against Israel.
In court documents made public Wednesday, an immigration judge in Louisiana ruled that Khalil should be deported for failing to disclose information on his green card application.
The decision marked a setback for Khalil, a lawful U.S. resident and recent Columbia University graduate student who became the first person targeted by President Donald Trump’s aggressive crackdown on pro-Palestinian activists. But while the ruling puts him one step closer to a final order of removal, it is far from the last word in the case.
For now, Khalil remains protected from detention and deportation under a separate judicial order. His legal team has said they intend to appeal the immigration judge’s ruling, which Khalil has characterized as “further evidence of retaliation” from a “kangaroo court.”
The system never cared that he was wrongfully detained and deported. They only cared that proper procedure wasn’t followed while committing crimed against humanity. In short, they simply wanted the time and space to wave symbols of their power around before letting the fascist do whatever he wants. In this political climate, when two judges give conflicting orders, whose do you think is going to end up being enforced?
Being this cynical is uncalled for and doesn’t help anything. Most judges (not this one) care about following laws.
There is usually no judge around when people get detained.