New York, New York - Palestinian rights activist Mahmoud Khalil issued a defiant statement after the Board of Immigration Appeals issued a final administrative removal order in his case.
"I am not surprised by this decision from the biased and politically motivated Board of Immigration Appeals," Khalil said in a statement.
"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," he added.
The BIA decision came after Khalil last month appealed an immigration judge's ruling that would allow the Trump administration to re-detain and deport him. His legal representatives say they plan to appeal the latest ruling to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Khalil was freed from ICE detention in June after a US judge in New Jersey ordered his release on bail. A Third Circuit Court of Appeals panel overturned the ruling, determining that an immigration court should have adjudicated the case.
The 31-year-old has urged a full appeals court to reconsider the decision, which his filing argued "would permit the government to detain any noncitizen on retaliatory or punitive grounds, without lawful justification, while insulating this abuse of detention power from any federal court review, for what will likely be years, as it accomplished its unconstitutional end."
Khalil's legal team insists that he cannot be lawfully detained or deported while his federal case continues.
Mahmoud Khalil vows to "continue fighting" in court
Khalil was born in Syria to a family of Palestinian refugees. He had a US green card and is married to an American citizen.
Nevertheless, Khalil was arrested in New York City in March 2025 by plainclothes immigration officials who did not have a warrant.
The Columbia University graduate student was transferred to the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center, where he spent more than 100 days behind bars and missed the birth of his first child.
A prominent member of Columbia's Palestine liberation movement, Khalil was targeted by the Trump administration for deportation due to his activism, but has repeatedly refused to back down in his legal fight.
"My family is here. My life is here. I reject any attempt to intimidate me out of my home based on lies and ideological attacks," Khalil insisted.
"This is not justice. This is just another attempt to retaliate against me," he continued.
"I will continue fighting for my rights in court, and I will not be deterred – for me, my family, and all immigrants in this country who want to speak out against injustice."