Immigration Board Denies Mahmoud Khalil’s Appeal

Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times,

An immigration appeals board on April 9 denied Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil’s final appeal seeking to keep him from being deported from the United States.

The former Columbia University student and leader of pro-Palestinian protests is now subject to an administrative final removal order, authorizing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to remove Khalil from the country.

Khalil, 31, said the board’s decision was based on politics.

“I am not surprised by this decision from the biased and politically motivated Board of Immigration Appeals,” Khalil said in a statement provided to The Epoch Times.

“I have committed no crime. I have broken no law. The only thing I am guilty of is speaking out against the genocide in Palestine—and this administration has weaponized the immigration system to punish me for it.”

A Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesperson told The Epoch Times the decision “speaks for itself.”

The DOJ oversees the Board of Immigration Appeals

Khalil was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria and is a citizen of Algeria. He entered the United States on a student visa in 2022 and married an American citizen a year later, becoming a legal permanent resident following the marriage. He was arrested in March 2025 and spent 104 days in an immigration jail, missing the birth of his first child.

Khalil’s detention has been criticized by progressive officials and organizations and politicians from the Democratic Party.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) have all expressed support for Khalil.

In March 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio invoked a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that charged Khalil’s presence in the country as having “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in January 2026 during an appearance on the NewsNation show “Katie Pavlich Tonight” that Khalil may be removed to Algeria.

“It looks like he’ll go to Algeria. That’s what the thought is right now,” McLaughlin said.

“It’s a reminder for those who are in this country on a visa or on a green card. You are a guest in this country—act like it.”

Khalil’s attorney, Marc Van Der Hout, a San Francisco immigration attorney, claims his client was targeted for his speech.

“Federal courts have already agreed that Mahmoud was targeted for his speech, and there is likely much more evidence of the government’s unlawful retaliation that has yet to come to light,” Van Der Hout said in a statement.

“This is a clear continuation of the administration’s retaliation against Mahmoud for exercising his First Amendment rights.”

Khalil’s remaining federal court case is also on uncertain ground after suffering a setback earlier this year when a U.S. appeals panel ruled 2–1 that a New Jersey judge overstepped his authority by releasing him on bail and barring the government from detaining or deporting him.

Khalil’s legal team has asked the full Third Circuit Court of Appeals to consider a full rehearing of his case. His attorneys said they believe Khalil can’t be removed until his appeal is resolved. The board’s decisions are not public.

The government has asked for 14 days to file a response to the request.