The US government has accused Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil of withholding information about his past employment with a United Nations Palestinian relief agency on his visa application, which they claim is grounds for his deportation.
Khalil, a Syrian native and Algerian citizen, entered the US on a student visa in 2022 and later applied for permanent residency in 2024. The government alleges that he failed to disclose his role as a political officer for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in 2023. UNRWA provides aid to Palestinian refugees and has faced accusations from Israel, which claimed that some of its employees were involved in Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The US subsequently suspended funding to the agency.
The administration of former US President Donald Trump detained Khalil on March 8 and transferred him to Louisiana for deportation proceedings. In a recent court filing, the government further accused Khalil of omitting his previous work at the Syria office of the British embassy in Beirut and his membership in the Columbia University Apartheid Divest group.
Khalil’s legal team has described the government’s claims as baseless and politically motivated. His lawyer, Ramie Kassem, argued that the allegations were retaliatory and intended to suppress Khalil’s free speech after his participation in pro-Palestinian campus protests.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked Khalil’s deportation while his lawsuit, challenging his detention through a habeas petition, is under review. The case has garnered significant attention as a potential test of free speech rights in the US, with supporters asserting that Khalil is being unfairly targeted for his views on Israel and Gaza.
