Immigration judge orders Mahmoud Khalil be deported to Algeria or Syria

An immigration judge ordered alleged Hamas sympathizer Mahmoud Khalil deported from the U.S. for failing to disclose certain information on his green card application.

Judge Jamee Comans ordered Khalil deported to Algeria or Syria, alleging he “willfully misrepresented” details on his green card application to circumvent the immigration process, according to court documents filed on Wednesday. The ruling deals a major blow to the Columbia University graduate, who became the face of left-wing resistance to the Trump administration’s crackdown on alleged anti-semitic activity on college campuses.

“Rather, this Court finds that Respondent willfully misrepresented material fact(s) for the sole purpose of circumventing the immigration process and reducing the likelihood his applications could be denied,” Comans stated.

“This Court cannot and will not condone such an action by granting a discretionary waiver,” the immigration judge continued.

Khalil — born in Syria and a citizen of Algeria — entered the U.S. on a student visa in December 2022 and later adjusted his status to a lawful permanent resident.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Khalil in March, who had become the biggest name in the anti-Israel protests that rocked Columbia’s campus throughout 2024. Subsequently, the Department of Homeland Security said the arrest was in support of the Trump administration’s crackdown on anti-Semitism and argued that “Khalil led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.”

The federal government has since accused him of not being completely forthcoming on his U.S. visa application.

The Palestinian activist did not disclose in his permanent residency application that he previously worked as a political affairs officer for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), according to court documents. The infamous UN agency, which has long been accused of ties to Hamas, allegedly employed numerous individuals who took part in the Oct. 7 massacre against Israel that left roughly 1,200 people dead.

Prosecutors further alleged that he also did not disclose his past role as a programs manager for the Syria Office in the British Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, or his affiliation with the anti-Israel student group Columbia University Apartheid Divest.

After spending months in an immigration detention center in Louisiana, a federal judge in June ordered him to be released. He has since received a hero’s welcome from anti-Israel activists and Democrats in Congress.

Khalil was asked repeatedly to condemn Hamas during a July interview with CNN, but he refused to do so, arguing that “it’s disingenuous to ask about condemning Hamas while Palestinians are the ones being starved now by Israel.”

Following his release from immigration custody, Khalil also sued the Trump administration for $20 million, alleging he was falsely imprisoned, maliciously prosecuted, and wrongly labeled as an anti-semite.

The alleged Hamas sympathizer is expected to contest Comans’ deportation 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 said in a public statement. “Such fascist tactics will never deter me from continuing to advocate for my people’s liberation.”

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