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Judge orders Mahmoud Khalil deported to Syria or Algeria
An immigration judge has ordered former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil deported to Syria or Algeria, ruling that he failed to disclose certain information on his green card application, according to documents filed Wednesday in federal court by his lawyers. FOX 5 NY's Hayley Fixler has the latest details.
NEW YORK CITY - New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani hosted Mahmoud Khalil, the former Columbia University graduate student arrested by ICE last year, and his family for Ramadan dinner at the mayor's residence this weekend.
What they're saying:
Mamdani posted a photo of the dinner to social media on Monday, stating that he and his wife invited Khalil, his wife and their son to break their fast together.
The dinner also marked the one year since the Palestinian activist was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents outside his apartment in New York City.
"For Mahmoud Khalil, this past year has been marked by profound hardship—and by profound courage," Mamdani said in the photo caption. "And yet, even in the face of that cruelty, there has also been beauty. New Yorkers raising their voices in solidarity. A city refusing to look away. Mahmoud won his freedom, and a father was finally reunited with his child."
Judge orders Mahmoud Khalil deported to Syria or Algeria
A judge ordered Columbia grad Mahmoud Khalil deported, even as courts weigh claims his arrest and detention were Trump-era retaliation for protests.
The backstory:
Khalil, a 30-year-old Palestinian born in Syria, was first arrested on March 8, 2025, in New York and transferred to a detention facility in Jena, Louisiana. His wife, a U.S. citizen, gave birth to their first child while he was in custody.
His detention sparked remarkable outrage in New York City, where thousands of demonstrators flooded the streets in protest of his arrest.
After more than three months in custody, a Biden-appointed judge blocked Khalil’s deportation on foreign policy grounds and later ordered his release, ruling that he was neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community. That decision allowed him to return to New York, where he reunited with his wife and newborn son.
Former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil reunites with his wife and son
Mahmoud Khalil landed at Newark Liberty International Airport after being released from an ICE detention facility.
Federal officials have accused Khalil of leading activities "aligned to Hamas," while the Trump Administration claims he failed to disclose information on his green card application.
In January, a federal appeals panel reversed the lower court decision that released Khalil from an immigration jail, bringing the government one step closer to detaining and ultimately deporting the Palestinian activist.
The Source: Information from this article was sourced from the Instagram of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani and previous reporting by FOX 5 NY.