Extending the “deportation ban” against Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil

A federal judge in New York extended the decision to “ban the deportation” that he issued earlier against the Palestinian student Mahmoud Khalil, after he was detained against the background of his leadership of university protests in the United States against the Israeli war on Gaza.

Ramzi Qassem, Khalil’s lawyer, told a judge yesterday, Wednesday, that he was deprived of obtaining legal advice, noting that his client spoke only to lawyers through a watch line subject to Louisiana, and has not yet been able to hold a long conversation with them.

Qasim added that Khalil “was arrested at night while returning to the house with his wife and took a thousand miles to Louisiana,” noting that his client’s wife, an American citizen, was pregnant in the eighth month of their first child.

He added that Khalil “was arrested and underwent deportation because he was defending the rights of the Palestinians,” asking for help to allow his client to meet his lawyer.

A call without censorship

Judge Jesse Foreman ordered that Khalil to receive one daily call without observation.

A defense lawyer read a statement by Khalil’s wife, in which he demanded the American government to release him, and said that he was kidnapped from his home and that it was shameful to detain him because of his defense of the rights of his Palestinian people.

No decision has yet been issued regarding the deportation or the legal issue related to the place of consideration of the case, as the government says it must be either in New Jersey, where the deportation procedures began, or in Louisiana.

On Friday, Judge Foreman set a final date for the government to present its legal arguments to the court, with the issuance of the issuance of Monday.

Outside the session, hundreds protested in support of Khalil and raised the Palestinian flags, while actress Susan Sarandon came to the court to support him.

The American authorities, Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate of Colombia University and one of the most prominent faces of the protest movement that erupted in response to Israel’s behavior during the war, was arrested before taking him to Louisiana and held by the Immigration and Customs Department at the end of the week.

The government did not accuse Khalil, but only canceled his permanent residence because of his involvement in the protests.

His detention angered opponents of President Donald Trump as well as defenders of freedoms, some of whom are right -wing who consider that such a step may have frightening effects on freedom of expression.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied that the detention was an attack on freedom of expression.

“Once you arrive in this country with such a student visa, we will cancel it” because of any support for the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

“If you end up with Green Card, not a nationality, but Green Card is caused by this visa, and while you are here (you do) these activities, we will expel you. It is simply.”

Deportation

In its announcement of the arrest of Khalil, the Ministry of Internal Security said that it acted on the “executive orders of President Trump that prohibits anti -Semitism and in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitte said on Tuesday that the authorities have presented a list of other Colombia students who the administration intends to deport because of their alleged participation in the protests.

She added that the university, which has been cut off from a federal financing of 400 million dollars due to accusations that it did not confront adequate anti -Semitism, did not cooperate.

Last year, American universities witnessed widespread student protests against the Israeli war in Gaza, and some of them resulted in violent confrontations between the police and anti -Israel demonstrators.

President Donald Trump pledged to deport foreign students who demonstrated in support of the Palestinians. Trump and officials of protesters were accused of supporting Hamas, classified as “terrorist” in the United States.

With an American support, Israel committed between 7 October 2023 and January 19, 2025, “Group genocide” in Gaza that left more than 160,000 martyrs and wounded Palestinians, most of them children and women, and more than 14,000 missing.