Anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil has lost a bid to have his deportation case thrown out.
An immigration appeals board issued a final order of removal Thursday, according to the Associated Press, citing Khalil’s legal team.
Khalil called the ruling “biased and politically motivated,” adding that he wasn’t surprised by the decision, the outlet reported. His attorneys said he is still pursuing a separate case in federal court and cannot yet be detained or deported.
“I have committed no crime. I have broken no law,” Khalil said in a statement. “The only thing I am guilty of is speaking out against the genocide in Palestine — and this administration has weaponized the immigration system to punish me for it.”
Khalil, a green card holder from Syria who is of Palestinian descent, was nabbed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in March 2025 after helping lead anti-Israel protests at Columbia University. The Department of Homeland Security said at the time that his activities were “aligned to Hamas.”
(Photo by Adam Gray/Getty Images)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Khalil’s “presence or activities would compromise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest” and pledged to strip the immigration status of foreigners deemed to be “Hamas supporters.”
“We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported,” Rubio said on X.
A federal judge in New Jersey ordered Khalil’s release from ICE detention in June.
Following Thursday’s ruling, Khalil’s lead attorney, Marc Van Der Hout, slammed the Trump administration, accusing it of exerting undue influence over immigration courts, which he argued have sided less with noncitizens.
“In all my decades as an immigration lawyer, I have never seen such a baseless and politically motivated decision,” Van Der Hout said. “The BIA’s decision has absolutely no support in the record, violates a federal court order, and we’ll be fighting it until the end.”
“Federal courts have already agreed that Mahmoud was targeted for his speech, and there is likely much more evidence of the government’s unlawful retaliation that has yet to come to light. This is a clear continuation of the administration’s retaliation against Mahmoud for exercising his First Amendment rights,” Khalil’s lawyer added.
Former ICE Deputy Field Office Director Scott Mechkowski also weighed in, writing on X that Khalil’s case “is an example of how the Immigration System is ‘Broken’!,” adding “This guy should have been removed years ago, but attorneys just keep trying to game the system. Time to deport him already!”
