Immigration Appeals Board Issues Final Removal Order for Palestinian Activist Mahmoud Khalil

The Justice Department’s Board of Immigration Appeals has denied Palestinian activist and former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil’s latest effort to dismiss his deportation case, issuing a final order of removal that moves him closer to re‑arrest and possible expulsion. Khalil, a 31‑year‑old legal permanent resident whose arrest was the first publicly known case in a federal crackdown on noncitizens who criticized Israel’s war in Gaza, called the decision 'biased and politically motivated' and accused the Trump administration of weaponizing immigration against him for 'speaking out against the genocide in Palestine.' His lawyers argue he cannot lawfully be detained or deported while he pursues a separate federal court challenge and have asked the full appeals panel to reconsider a prior 2–1 ruling that said a New Jersey judge overstepped by ordering his release after 104 days in ICE custody. The article notes DOJ has offered no public evidence to back its claim that Khalil’s campus organizing was 'aligned to Hamas,' and his attorneys say he faces potential targeting or even death if deported to a country such as Algeria or elsewhere in the region. The case has become a flashpoint in debates over whether the Trump administration is using immigration law to punish pro‑Palestinian speech on U.S. campuses and over the limited transparency and political control of the immigration court system housed inside DOJ.