A federal judge ruled Friday that Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist and green card holder tied to Columbia University’s radical encampment movement, will remain in ICE custody, delivering a quiet but significant win for the Trump administration’s hardline stance on foreign agitators who come to this country under false pretenses.
Khalil, who served as the lead negotiator for Columbia’s pro-Hamas protests last spring, was originally detained after Secretary of State Marco Rubio labeled him a threat to U.S. foreign policy. But earlier this week, District Judge Michael Farbiarz ruled that designation alone wasn’t a sufficient legal basis to keep Khalil locked up.
But the Trump administration didn’t blink. Instead, they pivoted—and quickly. By Friday morning, federal attorneys had amended their strategy, pointing to a different, and frankly, more rock-solid reason for Khalil’s detention: he lied on his green card application.
Specifically, the government alleges Khalil left off crucial information about his employment, a detail that legally justifies revoking his permanent resident status and opens the door for removal proceedings. And unlike nebulous “foreign policy threat” arguments, this one sticks. It’s simple: lie on your application, face the consequences. That’s the law.
“Detaining Khalil based on that other ground of removal is lawful,” the government said plainly on Friday, and Judge Farbiarz agreed.
According to NewsNation, the administration waited until nearly the last minute to submit the revised legal basis, just before the court-imposed 9:30 a.m. Friday deadline to release Khalil. His lawyers scrambled, demanding his release—but instead of getting a hero’s welcome outside the detention center, Khalil stayed right where he was.
Let’s not pretend this guy is just a poor student who forgot to dot an “i.” He was a key organizer of the radical, antisemitic protests that took over Columbia University, turning a world-class campus into a political circus. That he’s now detained isn’t just a legal win—it’s a message: the United States will not tolerate foreign nationals who abuse the immigration system while stirring domestic unrest.
Yes, Khalil missed the birth of his son. That’s unfortunate. But the blame doesn’t lie with Trump or ICE—it lies with him. He chose to lie on a federal form and lead protests that openly sympathized with terrorist organizations. Actions have consequences.
Welcome to the America First era.
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