U.S. says Columbia grad Mahmoud Khalil broke no laws — but must go anyway

The Trump administration, pressed to justify the detention and deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, admits in a new court filing that the recent Columbia University graduate committed no crime, but condemns his participation in "antisemitic protests and disruptive activities.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a memo that Khalil’s actions were “otherwise lawful,” but cited an obscure provision of immigration law that allows the federal government to deport people who threaten the country’s foreign policy interests.

Allowing Khalil to remain in the country, Rubio said in the filing, would "undermine U.S. policy to combat anti-Semitism around the world and in the United States, in addition to the efforts to protect Jewish students from harassment and violence in the United States.”

Marc Van Der Hout, one of Khalil’s attorneys, said in a press conference on Thursday that Rubio’s "determination has nothing to do with foreign policy.”

“That’s what this case is really centered on: the rights of people in this country, citizens and immigrants alike…to be able to speak out, whatever their views may be,” Van Der Hout said. “The government should not be using this really bogus statute saying it’s against U.S. foreign policy interests.”

Rubio’s claims came in a two-page memo submitted ahead of an immigration court hearing Friday in Louisiana. Khalil, a legal permanent resident, has been detained since being arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Manhattan on March 8.

The memo was first reported by the Associated Press.

Attorneys for the federal government filed the memo on Wednesday evening after an immigration judge ordered the government to show what evidence it has against Khalil. There was no immediate further comment from the Trump administration.

Khalil, who completed his master’s degree in December, has been a prominent student activist in local pro-Palestinian protests over the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. He was the first among several pro-Palestinian protesters across the country who have been detained by ICE, which has branded their activities “antisemitic.”

On the evening of March 8, the Syrian-born Khalil was detained by ICE officials at his apartment in a Columbia-owned housing complex. 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.

The Trump administration has withdrawn billions of dollars in federal funding from universities across the country for what it says is a failure to combat antisemitism on campus — a move that critics have condemned as an attack on freedom of speech.

In addition to Khalil’s immigration case in Louisiana, his attorneys have also filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, which is currently playing out in a federal court in New Jersey.

Shortly after Khalil was detained, he was transported to a detention center in Louisiana, where he is currently being held. His wife, an American citizen, is expected to give birth this month.