Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate and Palestinian protest organizer whose immigration arrest last year made national headlines, will be re-arrested and deported to Algeria, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said on Newsnation.
Khalil, a Syrian-born Algerian citizen of Palestinian descent, was arrested by federal immigration officers last March after Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed his presence would have “serious adverse foreign policy consequences” for the United States.
In a statement, Khalil’s legal team disputed whether he could be legally detained or deported while the appeals process has not concluded. In the statement, they said the government’s actions “reinforce its disdain for the First Amendment rights of people engaged in peaceful protest.”
The 30-year-old former student, who is a lawful permanent U.S. resident, was the first of several immigrant university students at Columbia and across the country to be targeted for deportation over their pro-Palestinian activism.
Khalil was detained for several months before a federal judge ordered his release in June. But in a recent setback for Khalil, a federal appeals court ruled 2-1 to reverse the lower court’s decision on jurisdictional grounds, opening the door for him to be detained again.
“It’s a reminder for those who are in this country on a visa or on a green card,” McLaughlin said in the Newsnation interview. “You are a guest in this country — act like it.”