A federal immigration judge is expected to rule on Friday whether Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student whose visa was revoked by the Trump administration, will be deported due to his involvement in protests against Israel’s war in Gaza last year.
Khalil was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on March 8, following the State Department’s revocation of his student visa.
On Wednesday, Judge Jamee Comans gave the Department of Justice 24 hours to present evidence justifying Khalil’s deportation.
On Thursday, the Trump administration submitted a memo signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The memo did not accuse Khalil of committing any crimes but argued that his continued presence in the United States may conflict with American foreign policy interests.
The ruling is being closely watched, as it could serve as a test case for the administration’s wider crackdown on foreign students involved in political activism. In recent months, the administration has revoked the visas of hundreds of international students and detained dozens for participating in protests related to the war in Gaza.
According to Rubio, as of late March, more than 300 student visas had been revoked for what the administration has labeled “anti-Israel activities.”
This legal battle comes amid growing pressure from the Trump administration on universities to suppress campus protests. The Department of Justice is currently investigating more than sixty universities for alleged discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students—a move many critics see as an attempt to target institutions that allow protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza.
The case has sparked a national debate over whether non-citizens are entitled to the same First Amendment protections as American citizens, and whether punishing foreign nationals for political speech could eventually lead to similar consequences for U.S. citizens.