Judge orders Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil to be deported to Algeria or Syria

A U.S. immigration judge in Louisiana has ordered Mahmoud Khalil—formerly a graduate student at Columbia University and a lawful permanent resident—to be deported to either Syria or Algeria. The order was issued recently and is based on findings that he misrepresented facts on his green card application. 

Key points in the case:

• The judge’s decision hinges on alleged “lack of candor” by Khalil in his residency paperwork, including failing to disclose involvement with a United Nations agency (UNRWA) and participation in a protest group affiliated with Columbia that advocates boycott of Israel. 

• His lawyers strongly disagree, rejecting those accusations and characterizing the deportation effort as politically motivated, aimed at punishing his speech and activism. 

• There is a separate judicial order out of New Jersey by a federal judge that currently blocks Khalil’s removal, as that court considers ongoing legal challenges to the government’s detention and claims about the law’s constitutionality. 

• Khalil has thirty days from the deportation ruling to appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals. If that fails, his green card could be revoked, and he may be required to leave the U.S.

Source: CBS NEWS