Mahmoud Khalil calls for deportation to be halted in light of new evidence

"The lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University student targeted for deportation by the United States government over his pro-Palestine advocacy, have called on an immigration appeals court to reopen and terminate his case. The latest legal appeal points to new evidence, some of which was documented in media reports, that Khalil's lawyers said it suggests that the Trump Administration secretly engineered the outcome of his immigration case to make an example of him."

"It comes just over a month after the Board of Immigration Appeals issued a final order of removal for Khalil, who was first detained by immigration enforcement agents in March 2025, one of several students targeted for their participation in pro-Palestine campus protests that swept the US the previous year. Khalil, a US permanent resident who is married to a US citizen, has long maintained that he has been unjustly targeted for his political views."

"It's clear that the revelations of DOJ misconduct corroborate what we have known since Mahmoud was arrestedthat the administration has reverse-engineered its desired outcome by weaponising a farcical proceeding littered with abnormalities, Johnny Sinodis, a lawyer representing Khalil, said in a statement. The new evidence includes a report by The New York Times that found that Khalil's case had been flagged as high priority before it had arrived at the Board of Immigration Appeals, in what his lawyers say indicated the case was being fast-tracked."

"The report, citing case documents, also found that the court had been instructed to treat Khalil's case as if he were still in detention custody, which typically results in an expedited processing timeline. Khalil was released from immigration detention in June 2025 following a f"

Lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestine Columbia student targeted for deportation, asked an immigration appeals court to reopen and terminate his case. The request cites new evidence suggesting procedural irregularities and possible Department of Justice misconduct. Khalil was detained in March 2025 and later received a final removal order in June 2025. His legal team argues the case was fast-tracked and treated as if he remained in detention, which typically accelerates processing. Lawyers also point to reporting that the case was flagged as high priority before reaching the Board of Immigration Appeals and that instructions were issued to handle it on an expedited basis. Khalil maintains he was unjustly targeted for political views.

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