WASHINGTON, United States: A US immigration judge ordered pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil be deported to Algeria or Syria over claims that he omitted information from his green card application, CNN reported, citing court documents.
Khalil’s lawyers said they intend to appeal the deportation order while saying a federal district court’s separate orders prohibit the government from immediately deporting or detaining him as his federal court case proceeds remain in effect.
“It is hereby further ordered that Respondent be Removed from the United States to Algeria, or in the alternative to Syria,” Judge Jamee Comans wrote in a court filing.
Mahmoud Khalil lost his bid for a waiver of removability, making him one step closer to deportation.
He claims his immigration judge took Marco Rubio’s “misrepresentations” about him as gospel, and is asking a NJ judge to step in.
Here’s some of the immigration judge’s ruling: pic.twitter.com/Kvn4YDB3s8
— Erik Uebelacker (@Uebey) September 17, 2025
According to AFP, the order dated September 12 by the immigration judge asserted the lack of full disclosure on Khalil’s green card application “was not an oversight by an uninformed, uneducated applicant…rather, this Court finds that Respondent willfully misrepresented material fact(s).”
Khalil, in a statement to the American Civil Liberties Union, said in response to the order: “It is no surprise that the Trump administration continues to retaliate against me for my exercise of free speech.”
“Their latest attempt, through a kangaroo immigration court, exposes their true colors once again.”
Khalil, a legal permanent resident in the United States who is married to a US citizen and has a US-born son, was detained by immigration for three months beginning in March and faced potential deportation.
A former Columbia University student who was one of the most visible leaders of nationwide pro-Palestinian campus protests, he was released from custody in June, but faced continued threats of deportation from federal authorities.
