Pro-Gaza Activist Seeks to Reopen Deportation Case Citing Trump Influence
Lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent pro-Palestinian activist and former Columbia University student, have requested that US immigration authorities terminate deportation proceedings against him. Filed on May 15, 2026, the motion alleges that the Trump administration secretly engineered the legal outcome to make an example of Khalil, who was arrested in March 2025 amid pro-Gaza campus protests. The legal team claims the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) improperly influenced lower court decisions, bypassed standard appellate channels, and issued a final removal order in just nine days after dismissing Khalil’s challenge in April 2026. Khalil, a legal permanent resident married to a US citizen, argues that the administration is violating longstanding procedures to intimidate free speech regarding Palestine. Although released from custody in June 2025, he remains under threat of deportation. The Executive Office for Immigration Review did not comment on the allegations. This case highlights ongoing tensions between federal immigration enforcement and political activism related to the conflict in Gaza.
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