Mahmoud Khalil takes deportation fight to the US Supreme Court

Lawyers for the former student leader seek to overturn an appeals court decision that would allow for his removal.

Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student, leads a 'March for Humanity' on August 16 in New York City [Stephanie Keith/Getty Images/AFP]

Pro-Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil has petitioned the United States Supreme Court to review a court ruling that could pave the way for his re-arrest and deportation.

On Monday, Khalil’s lawyers filed an emergency application to the high court, seeking an immediate stay of a decision from Philadelphia’s 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.

list 1 of 4 Mahmoud Khalil to appeal US deportation case to Supreme Court

list 2 of 4 Mahmoud Khalil calls for deportation to be halted in light of new evidence

list 3 of 4 Why is pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil suing Columbia University?

list 4 of 4 US court hands Trump victory against pro-Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil

That court had ruled that federal law should have prohibited lower courts from ordering Khalil’s release from immigration detention in June 2025.

Instead, the appeals court said that Khalil’s detention should have been weighed first in an immigration court — a system overseen by the executive branch of the US government — and not in district court, which is part of the judicial branch.

In March 2025, Khalil became the first student protester known to be targeted for his pro-Palestinian views under the second administration of President Donald Trump.

A permanent US resident and former Columbia University graduate student, Khalil was arrested inside the student housing complex where he lived with his wife, a US citizen.

The push to deport Khalil has become a flashpoint in the debate over free speech on US campuses.

His petition to the Supreme Court could result in a major legal showdown that determines whether federal courts can intervene when noncitizens face retaliatory detention for speech protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

Khalil’s lawyers have asked the Supreme Court to rule that noncitizens do indeed have the right to sue if immigration officials detain them as a reprisal for exercising free speech.

“If the Trump administration can punish someone for their pro-Palestine speech, this or any future administration can punish anyone for any speech,” Khalil said during a news conference on Monday.

Trump campaigned for re-election in 2024 in part on a pledge to crack down on the pro-Palestinian student protest movement, which had erupted in 2023.

Columbia University in New York became an epicentre for such activism. Khalil, who was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, had served as a spokesperson for the protest groups.

The Trump administration, however, has characterised pro-Palestinian activism as a threat to US foreign policy interests. It has argued it has the legal right to deport noncitizens who engage in such protests as a result.

After his arrest, Khalil was quickly moved to immigration detention centres in New Jersey, then Louisiana, where he remained in custody for more than three months.

Khalil faces deportation to Algeria or Syria if the 3rd Circuit Court’s decision holds.

In May, the 3rd Circuit narrowly voted six-to-five against reconsidering his case, but its decision will not go into effect until Khalil has exhausted his appeals.

He has fought his deportation both in the immigration court system and in the federal district court system, where he has filed a habeas corpus case. Both cases remain ongoing.

In April, the Board of Immigration Appeals denied his appeal in the immigration court system and issued a final order of removal in his case.

On Monday, faculty and staff at Columbia University held a silent vigil outside one of the school’s gates to protest what they described as “abducted students”, taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Placards with portraits of Khalil and fellow student protester Mohsen Mahdawi, among others, were hoisted into the air. Demonstrators called for solidarity with the students facing deportation and pushed for Columbia University to reopen its gates to the public after their closure during the protest movement.

这位前学生领袖的律师试图推翻上诉法院允许将其免职的裁决。

前哥伦比亚大学研究生马哈茂德·哈利勒于 8 月 16 日在纽约市领导了一场“为人类而游行”。[Stephanie Keith/Getty Images/AFP]

亲巴勒斯坦活动人士马哈茂德·哈利勒已向美国最高法院提出请愿，要求复审一项可能导致他再次被捕和驱逐出境的法院裁决。

周一，哈利勒的律师向最高法院提交了一份紧急申请，要求立即中止费城第三巡回上诉法院的一项裁决。

名单1/4：马哈茂德·哈利勒将就美国驱逐出境案向最高法院提起上诉

名单2/4：马哈茂德·哈利勒呼吁鉴于新证据停止驱逐出境

问题 3（共 4 个）：亲巴勒斯坦活动家马哈茂德·哈利勒为何起诉哥伦比亚大学？

美国法院裁定特朗普胜诉，驳回亲巴勒斯坦活动人士马哈茂德·哈利勒的诉讼（共4条，此为第4条）

该法院曾裁定，联邦法律应该禁止下级法院在 2025 年 6 月下令释放 Khalil，使其脱离移民拘留。

相反，上诉法院表示，哈利勒的拘留应该首先在移民法庭（由美国政府行政部门监督的系统）进行权衡，而不是在地区法院（司法部门的一部分）进行权衡。

2025 年 3 月，哈利勒成为唐纳德·特朗普总统第二任期内第一个因其亲巴勒斯坦观点而成为攻击目标的学生抗议者。

哈利勒是美国永久居民，也是哥伦比亚大学的前研究生。他和身为美国公民的妻子住在学生宿舍楼里，被捕时就在宿舍楼内。

将哈利勒驱逐出境的举动已成为美国校园言论自由辩论的焦点。

他向最高法院提出的请愿可能会引发一场重大的法律对决，以决定当非公民因受美国宪法第一修正案保护的言论而面临报复性拘留时，联邦法院是否可以进行干预。

哈利勒的律师已请求最高法院裁定，如果移民官员因非公民行使言论自由而对其进行报复性拘留，则非公民确实有权提起诉讼。

“如果特朗普政府可以因为某人发表支持巴勒斯坦的言论而惩罚他，那么本届政府或任何未来的政府都可以因为任何人发表任何言论而惩罚他，”哈利勒在周一的新闻发布会上说。

特朗普在 2024 年竞选连任时，部分承诺要镇压 2023 年爆发的亲巴勒斯坦学生抗议运动。

纽约哥伦比亚大学成为此类激进活动的中心。出生于叙利亚巴勒斯坦难民营的哈利勒曾担任抗议团体的发言人。

然而，特朗普政府将亲巴勒斯坦活动视为对美国外交政策利益的威胁。因此，它声称有权驱逐参与此类抗议活动的非公民。

哈利勒被捕后，很快被转移到新泽西州的移民拘留中心，然后又被转移到路易斯安那州，在那里他被拘留了三个多月。

如果第三巡回法院的裁决维持原判，哈利勒将面临被遣返回阿尔及利亚或叙利亚的风险。

5 月，第三巡回法院以六比五的微弱优势投票否决了重新审理此案的请求，但该决定要等到哈利勒用尽所有上诉途径后才会生效。

他已在移民法庭和联邦地区法院系统就其驱逐出境一事提起诉讼，并在联邦地区法院提起人身保护令申请。两起案件目前仍在审理中。

今年四月，移民上诉委员会驳回了他的上诉，并下达了最终的驱逐令。

周一，哥伦比亚大学的教职员工在学校大门外举行了一场静默守夜活动，抗议他们所说的“被移民和海关执法局（ICE）绑架的学生”。

印有哈利勒和另一位学生抗议者莫森·马赫达维等人肖像的标语牌被高高举起。示威者呼吁声援面临遣返的学生，并敦促哥伦比亚大学在抗议活动期间关闭校园后重新向公众开放。