Judge blocks Trump deportation of Columbia agitator
One of the “controversial” Trump agenda positions was to deport non-citizens who were supporting terror organizations in this country.
Last week, the Trump administration announced that it had detained for the purpose of deportation one of the primary pro-Palestine protesters at Columbia University, but a local judge just put a hold on the order.
He’s been arrested
Authorities recently detained Columbia anti-Israel agitator Mahmoud Khalil for his role in paralyzing the Columbia University campus for weeks.
The administration noted that the plan was to strip Khalil of his green card to deport him.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin announced, “On March 9, 2025, in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism, and in coordination with the Department of State, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student. Khalil led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.”
The arrest was met with outrage on the left and by Democrats, who are now running a support campaign for Khalil, claiming he did nothing wrong and was merely exercising his First Amendment Rights.
There Will Be More
After Khalil was arrested, President Trump made it clear that this was far from being a one-off incident.
He explained, “We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity. We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again.”
Some Columbia faculty members pushed back, with Professor Michael Thaddeus stating, “The attack on Mahmoud Khalil is intended to make them quake in their boots, and to make all of us quake in our boots. Our message to Washington is that we are not silenced, we are not afraid, and we stand together, determined to defeat this ongoing assault on our fundamental rights.”
If all Khalil did was protest, the courts will find in his favor, but let’s not forget that Jewish students were being threatened at the time, and many of these protesters expressed their support for Hamas. The question then becomes if the administration can prove that Khalil was part of that effort.
Judge Blocks Deportation
When we initially reported Khalil’s arrest, I stated at the time that his arrest and deportation would be challenged in court. Green cards can only be revoked by judges, and that is done when it is proven the individual has committed a felony or violent crime.
To that point, the judge in this case blocked the deportation on those grounds, citing that only an immigration judge had this authority, and the administration will have to prove the allegations made against Khalil.
Khalil’s attorney celebrated the temporary victory, stating, "The remarks by government officials, including the President, on social media only confirm the purpose – and illegality – of Mahmoud's detention. He was chosen as an example to stifle entirely lawful dissent in violation of the First Amendment. While tomorrow or thereafter the government may cite the law or process, that toothpaste is out of the tube and irreversibly so. The government’s objective is as transparent as it is unlawful, and our role as Mahmoud’s lawyers is to ensure it does not prevail.”
This is a huge deal for both sides of the aisle. Saying someone has beliefs aligned with Hamas is not the same as that person being aligned with Hamas or actually supporting the terrorist organization... the administration has to prove this was the case, and if it cannot, Khalil will go free and the Trump administration will have significant egg on its face. On the other hand, if it can prove the allegations, Democrats will be the ones who have to answer for sticking up for an alleged terrorist before fully vetting the individual. Either way, one party is going to be decimated by the outcome of this case.
