Trump administration Mahmoud Khalil, a student at Columbia University and anti-Israel protester, failed to disclose his work to the UN Palestinian Relief Agency in his visa application, accusing the negligence ordering deportation.
Khalil, a 30-year-old green card holder who has married a U.S. citizen, was arrested by immigration and customs law enforcement officers on March 8. In Sunday’s court summary, the U.S. government outlined its arguments for holding Khalil while continuing the dismissal process.
Khalil fraudulently applied to change his immigration status without adequately disclosing his “membership of certain organizations”, which could be a reason for deportation, the department said.
Video show arrests Colombian anti-Israel leader Mahmoud Khalil
Mahmoud Khalil allegedly played an important role in Columbia’s protests against Israel. (Ted Shaffrey, file)
Among these organizations is the UN’s Palestinian Refugee Relief and Engineering Agency (UNFAR). Relief Agency Tens of millions of dollars in federal funds were notoriously deprived of tens of millions of dollars in federal funds after Israel claimed 12 members participated in Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. The Justice Department said Harrier did not disclose that he was a political official in the North from June 2023 to 2023.
The Justice Department also said Khalil did not disclose that he worked in his Syrian office in Beirut, Lebanon, when he applied for a visa, or that he was a member of the Columbia University School of Apartheid (CUAD), which led anti-Israel protests at the Ive Alliance agency.
The Justice Department said on Sunday that the fact that he allegedly lied to the application provided a “independent basis” for his application to expel him, Covering the right to freedom of speech.
“Whatever his allegations about political speech, Khalil retained membership in certain organizations and failed to disclose continued employment in the Syrian office at the British Embassy in Beirut when he made an adjustment application. “In this case, false statements are not protected speech.”
Colombian student claims to be arrested by Ice “hate America”
“Therefore, Khalil’s First Amendment allegations were red herring and there was an independent basis for the removal of office enough to cancel Khalil’s constitutional claim,” they said.
Although students marched on the Columbia University campus to support protest camps supporting Palestinians in support of Palestinians in support of Palestinians during Israel’s conflict with Hamas in New York City, USA on April 29, 2024. (Reuters/David Di Delgado)
Khalil, Syrian Citizens of Algeria entered the United States with a student visa in 2022 and later applied for a permanent resident in 2024.
He was the first person in the Trump administration to revoke his student visa to participate in the protests.
People were shown outside the U.S. court on March 12, 2025 at Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate student, on March 12, 2025. (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)
Anti-Israel protests wreaked havoc on university campuses on October 7, 2023, leading to President Donald Trump’s campaign pledge Revoke foreign student visa.
“For all residents of foreigners who participate in pro-jihad protests, we have noticed you: By 2025, we will find you and we will expel you,” Trump quoted in a fact sheet issued by the White House. “I will also quickly cancel student visas for all Hamas sympathizers on university campuses who have been infected with unprecedented radicalism.”
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Fox News Digital has contacted Khalil’s attorney Marc van der Hout.
