According to the NBC News, an immigration judge on Friday ruled that the Trump administration can deport Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, a decision that comes a month after his arrest prompted national outrage and marked the start of the federal government’s broader crackdown on foreign students.
The Louisiana judge affirmed the Trump administration's argument that Khalil's beliefs threaten national security and justify his deportation.
“The court will sustain charge of removability," Judge Jamee Comans said.
Khalil, 30, has until April 23 to file for relief and can remain in the United States until then. A federal judge in New Jersey has temporarily barred Khalil’s deportation while he fights a similar challenge there.
Khalil addressed the court after the ruling.
"I would like to quote what you said last time that there's nothing that's more important to this court than due process rights and fundamental fairness," he said in a statement his defense team presented after the hearing. "Clearly what we witnessed today, neither of these principles were present today or in this whole process. This is exactly why the Trump administration has sent me to this court, 1,000 miles away from my family. I just hope that the urgency that you deemed fit for me are afforded to the hundreds of others who have been here without hearing for months.”
His legal team said it will "continue working tirelessly until Mahmoud is free."
“Today, we saw our worst fears play out: Mahmoud was subject to a charade of due process, a flagrant violation of his right to a fair hearing, and a weaponization of immigration law to suppress dissent," his attorney, Marc van der Hout, said in a statement. "This is not over, and our fight continues."
