GZERO Explains: Where do things stand for Mahmoud Khalil?

The court battle over whether the US can deport Mahmoud Khalil, the 30-year-old Palestinian-Algerian activist detained in New York last Saturday, began this week in Manhattan. Khalil has been an outspoken activist for Palestinian rights, often leading protests at Columbia University in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and the subsequent Gaza conflict.

Khalil was arrested Saturday at his apartment in a university-owned building at Columbia University by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, and he is now being held in an ICE detention center in Louisiana. His lawyers are fighting to have him returned to New York for the deportation trial as they believe a hearing in Louisiana would more likely favor the government.

For now, a New York judge has blocked Khalil from being deported while he challenges his detention in a separate case. The judge has also required that Khalil be allowed unmonitored calls with his lawyers, which he hadn’t been granted before Wednesday.

What is his background? Khalil is a legal permanent resident of the US, which means he has a “green card.” He was born to Palestinian parents in Syria, where he was raised in a refugee camp. Palestinian refugees have historically been denied Syrian citizenship, and Khalil eventually gained Algerian citizenship.

He is married to Noor Abdalla, a US citizen who is eight months pregnant with their first child. He is also a recent graduate of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and was a lead negotiator for students participating in the Gaza solidarity encampment at the school last year.

What is he accused of? There have been no criminal charges against Khalil, but government officials, including President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, say Khalil is a threat to national security and foreign policy. The US administration views the pro-Palestine protests on Columbia’s campus last year as aligned with Hamas’ worldview, and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin has said Khalil participated in activities “aligned with Hamas.”

The Trump administration seeks to deport Khalil in line with section 237(a)(4)(C)(i) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act (8 USC § 1227), which states that an LPR can be deported if their “presence or activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”

But Khalil’s lawyers say the government has not presented any evidence in court filings that Khalil has ties with or supports Hamas.

Can a permanent resident be deported? ICE agents said they were stripping Khalil of his green card, but according to legal scholars, green card holders can’t be stripped of their immigration status without due process.

Khalil’s arrest raises serious questions about the rights and entitlements of green card holders under the new Trump administration. But green card holders are entitled to basic Constitutional protections, including First Amendment and due process rights, which advocates and attorneys for Khalil say the government is violating.

There’s very little legal precedent for this kind of removal, especially for LPRs, but this section of the INA has been used to prevent people from coming to the US. The administration appears to be testing this little-used statute to see if it can be deployed further.

Where would Khalil be deported? The US government has not mentioned whether it plans to deport Khalil to Syria or Algeria, but as he holds Algerian citizenship, the latter would be the most likely. It’s worth noting, however, that Algeria often rejects deportation orders from France, and it’s unclear how Algiers responds to US deportation requests.

Why Khalil? President Donald Trump has said that Khalil is “the first arrest of many to come.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly named two people, including Khalil, to be deported in a March 7 letter he sent to Homeland Security. Both were identified as legal permanent residents, but the second person has not yet been arrested.