Court documents filed Wednesday reveal that Immigration Judge Jamee Comans has mandated the deportation of Mahmoud Khalil to Algeria or Syria, with allegations centered on omitted details from his permanent residency application.
NBC News reported that Khalil, who previously studied at Columbia University as a graduate student, released a statement declaring: "It is no surprise that the Trump administration continues to retaliate against me for my exercise of free speech."
The judicial ruling came after Khalil faced detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in March, followed by his release in June, with his case becoming a focal point of the current administration's enforcement actions against the anti-Israel initiatives in the United States.
Based in Jena, Louisiana, Immigration Judge Jamee Comans rejected Khalil's waiver request on Friday, preventing his removal from the United States due to claimed misrepresentations in his status adjustment application.
Legal representatives for Khalil confirmed they maintain a 30-day period from Friday's ruling to file an appeal with the Board of Immigration Appeals. Within the Friday order, Comans referenced a June 20 court decision that rejected Khalil's asylum request and mandated his removal to Algeria and Syria, as documented by NBC News.
The judge reinforced her previous determination, stating the court concluded Khalil's "lack of candor on his I-485 form was not an oversight by an uninformed, uneducated applicant," with the I-485 representing the application for permanent residence registration or status adjustment.
Comans declared in her ruling: "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. This Court cannot and will not condone such an action by granting a discretionary waiver."
Khalil's legal team sent correspondence on Wednesday to US District Judge Michael Farbiarz, the Biden-appointed federal judge overseeing Khalil's habeas corpus petition in New Jersey court, stating: "The only meaningful impediment to Petitioner's physical removal from the United States would be this Court's important order prohibiting removal during the pendency of his federal habeas case."
Khalil added in his statement: "When their first effort to deport me was set to fail, they resorted to fabricating baseless and ridiculous allegations in a bid to silence me for speaking out and standing firmly with Palestine, demanding an end to the ongoing genocide. Such fascist tactics will never deter me from continuing to advocate for my people's liberation."
Khalil, originally from Syria and holding Algerian citizenship, arrived in the United States using a student visa in December 2022, with his status changing to lawful permanent resident in November of the previous year.
Trump administration officials have alleged that Khalil, despite holding a green card, concealed information regarding his organizational memberships, including his role as a political officer with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency of Palestine Refugees and his participation in Columbia University Apartheid Divest, while also failing to disclose previous employment at the Syria Office within the British Embassy in Beirut in his 2024 permanent residency application.
