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As anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil is now free for now in the United States, a Republican legal expert revealed what steps the Trump administration could take as the hotly debated immigration case continues.
Khalil, who’s technically a legal permanent resident, was arrested in March over his pro-Palestinian activism on the Columbia University campus in New York City, and an immigration judge ruled he could be removed from the country based on a memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that said his campus protests were at odds with U.S. foreign policy interests.
He was released from federal detention in Louisiana last month after a court ruling.
NEWLY RELEASED MAHMOUD KHALIL SPOTTED BACK AT ANTI-ISRAEL PROTEST AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks to the press next to former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil as he is greeted by family and friends upon arrival at Newark airport in Newark, New Jersey, on June 21, 2025. (KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)
“The judge did not have the authority to decide on Khalil’s detention status. This was specifically an only foreign immigration judge, not a federal judge. He doesn’t have the wherewithal, the knowledge, or the legal backing to make this decision. Khalil should have never been released,” Attorney Mehek Cooke said, agreeing with the administration’s assessment that Khalil poses a threat due to his anti-Israel activism.
“And the last time I checked, President Trump is the Commander-in-Chief, Secretary Rubio has determined Khalil not only to be a threat to national security, but under his jurisdiction, asked for his removal. And we’re constantly seeing judges circumvent federal immigration law, the Commander-in-Chief, and now Secretary Rubio for political gain,” she continued.
In addition, the DHS said Khalil allegedly omitted key information from his green card application about groups with which he was affiliated, including the…
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