Immigration board denies Mahmoud Khalil's appeal as federal case continues
AP News • • world
Key Points:
- The Board of Immigration Appeals denied Mahmoud Khalil’s bid to dismiss his deportation case, issuing a final order of removal that moves him closer to re-arrest and possible expulsion.
- Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student and Palestinian activist, denies allegations linking him to Hamas and claims the immigration system is being used to punish him for speaking out against actions in Palestine.
- Khalil spent 104 days in immigration detention following his arrest last March and was later released by a federal judge, but a federal appeals panel ruled that his case must proceed through immigration courts before he can challenge it in federal court.
- His lawyers are seeking reconsideration from the full appeals panel and have requested a judge recuse himself due to prior involvement in investigating student protesters.
- Khalil, a legal permanent resident born in Syria to a Palestinian family with Algerian citizenship, fears deportation could lead to persecution or death.
