60 h. ago The case against Mahmoud Khalil is meant to silence American dissent | Moustafa Bayoumi

The open door of American democracy is slamming shut faster and louder than we could have imaginedOn Friday afternoon, a federal immigration judge in Louisiana ruled that Mahmoud Khalil, the lawful permanent resident who was arrested last month for his advocacy for Palestinian rights at Columbia University, was removable – that is to say, deportable – under the law.Let’s be absolutely clear about how outrageous this decision is. The judge, Jamee Comans, had given the Trump administration a deadline to produce the evidence required to show that Khalil should be deported. In a functional state, such evidence would rise to a standard of extreme criminality necessitating deportation. Continue reading...

Politics

69 h. ago Immigration judge rules Mahmoud Khalil can be deported: a timeline of events

An immigration judge has ruled that a Palestinian Columbia University graduate student who participated in protests against Israel can be deported

Events

3 d. ago What to know about activist Mahmoud Khalil and his attorneys' plan to appeal his deportation ruling

An immigration judge has ruled that a Palestinian Columbia University graduate student who participated in protests against Israel can be deported

Politics

3 d. ago I disagree with Mahmoud Khalil’s politics. But the deportation decision is abhorrent | Jo

Expelling the Columbia activist for his views would leave our nation weaker and endanger all of our rightsWhen the federal immigration judge Jamee Comans ruled in favor of allowing the government to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student in the US on a legal visa, her decision was based on “foreign policy concerns” presented by US secretary of state Marco Rubio. It was so shocking that I had to reread the news report several times before I could believe it.Rubio’s claim is based on Khalil’s leadership role in the anti-Israel protests at Columbia University. I didn’t agree with Khalil’s politics when he led the protests and I don’t agree today with his politics, nor even his actions during the protests. But I’m unwavering in supporting his right to his views, and his right to shout them in what, until Trump took the reins, was our free American nation.Jo-Ann Mort, who writes and reports frequently about Israel/Palestine is also author of the forthcoming book of poetry, ...

Politics

3 d. ago Judge allows Trump administration to deport Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil over pro

Immigration court judge will allow government to continue removal efforts against green card holder

Politics

3 d. ago Immigration judge rules that Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported

A Louisiana immigration judge has ruled that the U.S. can deport Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil based on the federal government’s argument that he poses a national security risk

Events

4 d. ago Mahmoud Khalil can be expelled for his beliefs alone, US government argues

Marco Rubio provides two-page memo to judge who asked government for evidence against Columbia student activistUS politics live – latest updatesFacing a deadline from an immigration judge to turn over evidence for its attempted deportation of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, the federal government has instead submitted a brief memo, signed by the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, citing the Trump administration’s authority to expel noncitizens whose presence in the country damages US foreign policy interests.The two-page memo, which was obtained by the Associated Press, does not allege any criminal conduct by Khalil, a legal permanent US resident and graduate student who served as spokesperson for campus activists last year during large demonstrations against Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and the war in Gaza. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Pressed for evidence against Mahmoud Khalil, government cites its power to deport people for beliefs

The U.S. government has submitted a two-page memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio as its main evidence in its deportation case against Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalili

Politics

6 d. ago Immigration judge to rule Friday on possible release of detained Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil

An immigration judge in Louisiana says she will decide later this week whether the government can continue to detain Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University activist facing deportation for his role in pro-Palestinian campus protests

Events

9 d. ago Mahmoud Khalil says his arrest was part of ‘Columbia’s repression playbook’

Green-card holder and activist led campus pro-Palestinian rallies and is now fighting Trump effort to deport himMahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University student activist who led campus pro-Palestinian rallies and is now resisting the Trump administration’s deportation efforts, has accused the university of laying “the groundwork for my abduction” and called on the student body to continue demonstrations and protests.Khalil, a green-card holder who is in custody in Louisiana as his case moves through the courts, was detained on 8 March. The Trump administration is seeking to deport him under a provision in federal immigration law that permits the state department to deport non-citizens considered to be a threat to US foreign policy. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Jamaican rapist avoids deportation on human rights grounds as criminal record in UK means he is not eligible for witness protection in Caribbean

A convicted sex attacker cannot be deported to Jamaica because his crimes in the UK mean he might not be eligible for the witness protection scheme in his homeland, an immigration judge ruled.

Events

1 week ago Judge rules Mahmoud Khalil’s deportation case must continue in New Jersey

Ruling does not guarantee Columbia University protester will be moved out of a detention facility in LouisianaA federal judge has ruled that the legal battle over Mahmoud Khalil’s deportation should continue to play out in New Jersey, rejecting the Trump administration’s bid to transfer the Columbia University protester’s case to Louisiana.In a written decision on Tuesday, the US district judge Michael Farbiarz in Newark said the jurisdiction over the case should remain in New Jersey since Khalil was being held there at the time his lawyers filed their habeas corpus petition. The judge described the government’s argument otherwise as “unpersuasive”. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Detained Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil appears in immigration case

Detained Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil has appeared briefly in immigration court at a remote Louisiana detention center

Culture

3 w. ago Trump has turbocharged the attacks on free speech at US universities. I have seen it first

For speaking up for Palestine, I have been targeted – and have seen colleagues and students face arrest and sanctions Sandy Tolan is a professor at the University of Southern California in Los AngelesThe Trump administration’s attempted deportation of the Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent legal resident of the US, is sparking outrage and nationwide protests. But as shocking as his arrest may have seemed to the world, it was sadly unsurprising to those of us on the frontlines of the war at home over Gaza. Here in the US, a building fury of anti-Palestinian hatred, especially since the October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, is giving Donald Trump cover to cleanse the country of “undesirables” and undermine free speech and academic freedom.“If you love Hamas so much why not pack up and move to south Gaza,” an infuriated reader wrote to me last spring, after the LA Times published my opinion article criticising my own university, the University of Southern Californ...

Politics

3 w. ago Federal judge says Columbia student activist's case should be heard in New Jersey

A Columbia University student activist who was detained by the U.S. government over his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations has the right to challenge the legality of his detention

Events

3 w. ago Judge denies Trump administration’s attempt to dismiss Mahmoud Khalil’s challenge to his deportation – live

Judge also rules case of detained Palestinian activist should be heard in New Jersey, not LouisianaExclusive: Mahmoud Khalil says he’s being targeted for political beliefsDemocratic congressman Glenn Ivey told constituents at a town hall meeting in his Maryland district that Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s Democratic minority leader, should step down from his position after a bitter intraparty fight over government funding last week, HuffPost reports.Ivey is the first member of Congress to say Schumer should leave his leadership position, after the leader supplied enough votes to pass a Republican-backed government funding bill through the Senate. House Democrats had near-unanimously rejected the measure, and many in the party believe Schumer, who argued the bill was better than allowing a shutdown that could be exploited by Donald Trump and Elon Musk, gave up leverage he could have used against the administration. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Mahmoud Khalil feared the U.S. would immediately deport him after his arrest, new court filings show

Although one ICE official said Khalil had been transferred from a New Jersey facility due to bedbugs, Khalil said in his hours-long detention there, he heard no mention of bedbugs

Events

4 w. ago Mahmoud Khalil’s case is setting up an epic first amendment battle with Trump

Trump administration’s interpretation of immigration law paves way for high-stakes legal clash after activist’s arrestThe Trump administration is relying on an obscure provision of immigration law to justify deporting Mahmoud Khalil, a legal permanent resident, setting up a high-stakes legal battle between the first amendment and what the government claims are its foreign policy powers.Khalil, a Columbia University graduate who became a leader of pro-Palestinian protests on the campus, was arrested on 8 March by immigration agents. After his arrest, immigration officials said they were seeking to deport him under a provision of federal law that gives the US secretary of state, currently Marco Rubio, the power to deport someone if their presence in the country is deemed to “have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States”. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Judge rules Prince Harry's US immigration files must be made public by Tuesday

A court has ordered that Prince Harry's US immigration files must be made public by Tuesday, in relation to an ongoing Freedom of Information (FOI) request

Politics