Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil takes the stand in bid for asylum
Following a nearly 10-hour court hearing Thursday, an immigration judge will not immediately decide if Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who the Trump administration has targeted for deportation after he helped organize pro-Palestinian protests as a student at Columbia University, is eligible for asylum.
Instead Judge Jamee Comans is giving attorneys for Khalil, who took the stand Thursday, as well as attorneys for the Trump administration until June 2 to file written closing statements on the matter before she makes her decision.
Khalil, a green card holder who is married to an American citizen, has been held in a Louisiana detention facility since ICE agents arrested him in the lobby of his apartment building in New York City in March.
When he took the stand Thursday, Khalil testified in support of his case for asylum and for withholding of removal to either Algeria or Syria.
He spoke at length about growing up in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria where he said his friends and family faced torture, kidnappings and, in some cases, death. He repeatedly stated that the Trump administration's accusations that he's a Hamas supporter makes him a target for Israel in any country he could be deported to. In Syria, he also said remnants of the Assad regime as well as military factions within the country could target him as well or that he could be used as a "bargaining chip" in negotiations between the new Syrian government and other nations including the U.S.
Prior to the hearing, Khalil met his infant son for the first time. The proceedings were attended by Khalil's wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, who gave birth to the couple's son on April 21 during Khalil's ongoing detention in Louisiana.
Throughout the hearing Khalil would often look back toward his baby when the newborn cooed.
Khalil also testified about his role negotiating between different protest groups at Columbia.
"The liberation of Jewish people and Palestinian people are intertwined," he said.
In one of his final remarks on the stand, Khalil said he would continue to protest against the war in Gaza.
"I spent a good time of my life fleeing from harm, advocating for the marginalized to have rights. That's what put me in danger. Israel is committing genocide. America is funding that genocide. Columbia is investing in it. That is what I was protesting. This is what I will continue to protest. This is what everyone should protest. This is where our efforts should go," he said.
Earlier in the hearing, several expert witnesses were called by Khalil's legal team, who testified to the dangers Khalil might face if deported to Algeria or Syria, due to the notoriety of the case. One expert said the international prominence his case had achieved would make him a target.
During a cross-examination Thursday, DHS Deputy Chief Counsel Numa Metoyer pressed Khalil about whether he was ever personally harmed when he lived in Syria, or the few times he's visited Algeria.
Khalil recalled that the Assad regime would often kidnap and torture people involved in humanitarian efforts, like he was. When two of his friends were "disappeared" he said he made the decision to flee to Lebanon. He also repeated that he had friends and family members who were either killed by the regime or kidnapped and tortured.
"What physical persecution did you face before you left," Metoyer asked, attempting to make the point that Khalil himself had not been harmed.
"In December 2012, the regime attacked my camp. We were under bombardment by the regime," Khalil said.
When pressed if he had been harmed, Khalil said no, but that his neighbors had been.
Last month, Comans ruled that Khalil is deportable based on Secretary of State Marco Rubio's assertion that his continued presence and actions in the country poses "adverse foreign policy consequence." She did not ask to review any evidence backing those claims.
Officials from President Donald Trump's administration have said Khalil was detained for his purported support of Hamas -- a claim his legal team has rejected.
In a memo filed in the case, Rubio wrote that Khalil should be deported because of his alleged role in "antisemitic protests and disruptive activities, which fosters a hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States."
Earlier in Thursday's proceedings, Comans denied Khalil's motion to terminate the case based on his allegation that his arrest and detention is illegal because he was arrested without a warrant.
The judge also declined to hear argument from Khalil's team pertaining to the government's allegations that Khalil lied on his application for a green card, saying the issue was "irrelevant" because she had already determined that Khalil was removable.
There were several heated exchanges between Khalil's counsel, Marc Van Der Hout, and Judge Comans, who at one point cautioned Van Der Hout "not to argue with her."
Van Der Hout, his voice rising, replied, "Well, I am going to argue with you."
"And you're going to lose," Comans responded.
Ahead of the hearing, Khalil's attorney submitted over 600 pages of documents, declarations and expert analyses supporting their claim that he is not antisemitic and that he could face torture and death if he were to be deported.
