After a highly contentious, months-long battle, infamous pro-Hamas activist and Syrian national Mahmoud Khalil has been ordered deported by a federal immigration judge.
This marks what the Trump administration hopes will be the final legal order in the case, which has seen more twists and turns than a mountain road. In August, Khalil once again justified the October 7th attacks, speaking of himself as if he were a direct member of Hamas.
SEE: Mahmoud Khalil's Latest Interview Shows Why He Should Be Deported Immediately
KLEIN: I did a piece right after October 7, and one of the things that seemed clear to me, very, very quickly on that day, as you’re watching the images, as you’re hearing the screams, you’re seeing the videos of people of Jewish Israelis being paraded around of corpses is both that this attack is horrific and that the counterattack is going to be overwhelming. And that on some level, I understood that as something Hamas must have wanted. Pull Israel into this attack. Pull it into some kind of war. Maybe you involve other players in the Middle East, but a lot of lives were being used there as kind of chips on the table. Was that your perception? Or did you see this as something that needed to happen to break the equilibrium?
KHALIL: I think it’s more the latter. Just to break the cycle. To break that the Palestinians are not being heard. And to me, it’s a desperate attempt to tell the world that Palestinians are here, that Palestinians are part of the equation. That was my interpretation of why Hamas did the October 7 attacks on Israel. Because at that point, there was no political process. It was clear that the Saudi-Israel deal is very imminent. And Palestinians wouldn’t have any path to statehood and self-determination. So they had to do that.
Even though Khalil had allegedly lied on his green card application about his support for terrorism, he has enjoyed a series of judicial orders keeping him in the United States. For their part, Democrats have latched onto his case as a rallying point, doing everything they can to protect him from deportation. That even though Khalil originally entered as a student, but had already graduated, he had been spending his time leading pro-Hamas rallies and joining arms with those who call for a "global intifada."
Now, after the Trump administration first ordered him removed from the country in March, Khalil has finally run out of runway. Well, at least, it looks like he has.
Immigration judge orders Mahmoud Khalil deported to Syria or Algeria https://t.co/N1kb1O3cM1
— POLITICO (@politico) September 17, 2025
An immigration judge in Louisiana has ordered pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a legal permanent resident of the U.S., deported to Syria or Algeria for failing to disclose certain information on his green card application, according to documents filed in federal court Wednesday by his lawyers.
Khalil’s lawyers suggested in a filing that they intend to appeal the deportation order, but expressed concern that the appeal process will likely be swift and unfavorable.
Khalil's only hope, as admitted by his lawyers, is to beg a judge in New Jersey who has previously been favorable to the terror supporter on his habeas claim to step in. As it stands, they do not expect their appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals or the 5th Circuit to succeed. Can the New Jersey judge even do anything here if the appeals court rules? I'll leave that to people far smarter than me to speculate on. Either way, we'll find out fairly quickly.
As for the order itself, it allows Khalil to be deported to his native Syria or to Algeria. You can expect the Trump administration to move quickly here. This has gone on long enough, and it seems fairly clear that Khalil has no legal right to remain in the United States.
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