An immigration appeals board turned away a bid by anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil to have his deportation case dismissed, clearing another obstacle to his removal from the United States.
The Justice Department’s Board of Immigration Appeals ruled on Thursday that the 31-year-old, a U.S. permanent resident born in Syria and of Palestinian heritage, is subject to deportation, though his attorneys insist he cannot be removed while a separate federal court case plays out.
Khalil, who was arrested for his part as an organizer in destructive, antisemitic protests at Columbia University, his alma mater, called the decision “biased and politically motivated” and claimed that the Trump administration “has weaponized the immigration system” to punish him for his stance on the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Khalil is going through deportation procedures on the grounds that he omitted key information on his application for permanent residency, including his work with a terror-tied U.N. agency and his time with the British embassy in Syria.
The prior reasoning used by the administration that Khaili’s continued presence in the United States was contrary to the best interests of American foreign policy, based on a rarely used statute, did not hold water in the courts.
A federal judge in New Jersey had ordered Khalil’s release after 104 days in custody, finding fatal flaws with the government’s reasoning for holding him. A federal appeals panel later overturned the judge’s decision, ordering the case to wind its way through immigration court before it could be challenged in federal court.
Khalil’s lawyers are also appealing that decision.
