Ruling due on Columbia protester Mahmoud Khalil deportation case

A Louisiana judge is giving the government until Wednesday evening to turn over any evidence it has to justify the deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a spokesperson for the Columbia University graduate’s legal team said.

Judge Jamee Comans scheduled a hearing for Friday, according to Jen Nessel, a spokesperson for the Center for Constitutional Rights, which is part of Khalil’s legal representation. She said the judge is also expected to decide on Friday whether Khalil should be removed from the country or released from detention.

Khalil appeared in a Louisiana courtroom Tuesday, about a month after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained him at his university-owned apartment building in Morningside Heights. He was transferred soon after to a detention facility in Louisiana, where he faces removal proceedings.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Khalil is a lawful permanent resident, and his wife is a United States citizen. He played a leading role in campus protests against the war in Gaza and is one of the few protesters who spoke publicly, without hiding his name or his face.

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughin has said he “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization,” but provided no evidence to support the allegation.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social media after Khalil’s arrest that the government “will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.”