A federal immigration judge ruled on Friday that pro-Hamas activist Mahmoud Khalil is deportable. That came just a day after supporters of the non-citizen celebrated, believing that the Trump administration had not offered sufficient evidence in the case. 

Mr. Khalil’s lawyer is Marc Van Der Hout, an absolute legend in the field who’s been taking (and winning) high profile cases since the 1980s. I imagine he’s pretty happy to see that this is all they’ve got.

— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) April 10, 2025

I guess Marc Van Der Hout isn't the cheat card people thought he was. Khalil now has until April 23rd to file for relief in the case, and this ruling marks a significant win for Secretary of State Marco Rubio's asserted authority to remove visa holders and other non-citizens for openly supporting terrorism.

ALSO SEE: MSNBC Tries to Frame Deportation of Pro-Hamas Activist 'Authoritarian Logic'

BREAKING: Per colleague @Brooketaylortv at the hearing, a federal immigration judge has ruled that Columbia pro Palestine activist Khalil Mahmoud is REMOVABLE and that the Trump administration has met its burden to deport him. Khalil has until 4/23 to file relief applications.

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) April 11, 2025

BREAKING: A federal immigration judge in Louisiana has ruled that the Trump administration can REMOVE Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Hamas activist and Columbia University graduate.

“An immigration judge has found Mahmoud Khalil removable.” pic.twitter.com/riVIN9Qu2o

— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) April 11, 2025

As RedState has extensively reported, Khalil has been a ringleader of various campus "protests" organized to support Hamas at Columbia University. Of note is that he's no longer a student at the school, and some of the actions he and his counterparts took, including occupying various campus buildings, were allegedly not legal. 

That was never the burden, though. Supporters of Khalil repeatedly tried to assert that because he hadn't been charged with a crime, there were no grounds for removal. That's not how this works. When you receive a visa or a green card, there are certain regulations surrounding the support for terrorism, both direct and indirect, that you are expected to abide by. If someone doesn't disclose that they support Hamas, for example, during their application process, they've lied by omission. 

In other words, the burden for removal was never as high as some asserted, nor should it be. Other countries have broad discretion over the revocation of visa and other non-citizen statuses, and so should the United States. 

Another interesting aspect of this is that my write-up on the Trump administration outfoxing one of the judges in this case came to fruition. Khalil originally tried to challenge his detention and deportation in the Southern District of New York, but because he had been moved to Louisiana, he was required to file habeas corpus there. That put him in what was likely a less friendly jurisdiction, and we've now seen that play out against him.

While this isn't the end of the road, it's a very good sign for Rubio's stated authority. If this continues down this road, Khalil will not be the only one being sent back to where they came from for supporting terrorism. 

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