BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — The U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals issued a final administrative removal order in April against Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian permanent resident and pro-Palestinian activist. The order came within nine days of final briefing, while appeals decisions before the board typically take years.

Internal board documents indicated that Khalil's case had been flagged as high priority and expedited. Multiple judges recused themselves from the case. The Board of Immigration Appeals is part of the U.S. Department of Justice and is required by law to consider cases independently.

"This story proves that the Trump administration's treatment of my case has always been corrupt and retaliatory," Khalil said. "They put me through a sham immigration process while guaranteeing the outcome in advance."

Marc Van Der Hout, an attorney on Khalil's legal team, addressed the board's handling of the case. "These revelations make clear that this case has been controlled from day one by higher-ups in the administration," he said. "The immigration judge was hand-picked and the Board of Immigration Appeals decision was predetermined. We will continue to fight for Mahmoud in every court we can."

Khalil was arrested in New York in March 2025 for his advocacy at Columbia University for Palestinian rights, becoming the first noncitizen activist arrested in the Trump administration crackdown on pro-Palestinian speech. He was sent to an ICE detention center in Louisiana and held for 104 days. During that period, his wife, a U.S. citizen, gave birth to their first child, who is now one year old. Khalil was raised in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria.

A federal judge released Khalil from detention in June 2025, ruling that he was neither a flight risk nor a community threat and that his detention was unconstitutional. The district court found that his detention and attempted deportation based on his Columbia University activism were likely unconstitutional.

In January, a split panel of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the district court ruling, holding that the lower court did not have jurisdiction over the case. Khalil's attorneys asked the full Third Circuit to reconsider its decision and are awaiting a ruling. Depending on the outcome, Khalil could be expelled from the U.S., even if his attorneys ask the Supreme Court to review the case.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Khalil's presence in the U.S. would have adverse foreign policy consequences. The Trump administration claimed that Khalil's green card application contained omissions, and earlier this year said it would deport him to Algeria. In a separate lawsuit last year, a federal judge accused the government of violating the First Amendment by conspiring to target certain pro-Palestinian scholars for deportation based on their views.