In anti-Trump demonstrations, his name can be seen on signs: "Free Khalil." Arrested on March 8 in New York and detained since then in Louisiana without charges being filed against him, Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, 30, has become a symbol of foreign students' political deportations on American campuses.

Born in Syria in a Palestinian refugee camp, the activist, who has held a US permanent resident green card since 2024, hoped to be released on Friday, April 11, during a hearing about his continued detention by immigration judge Jamee Comans. He reminded the court that his wife, Noor Abdalla, an American dentist, is due to give birth soon and that, while "knowing fully that this moment transcends my individual circumstances," he hoped "to be free to witness the birth of my first-born child."

The judge decided otherwise. During the hearing in Jena, Louisiana, she ruled that the Trump administration can deport the student under the discretionary power of the secretary of state to assess risks to national security. Khalil's lawyers announced their intention to appeal. Another judge – a federal one – is also considering the constitutionality of his deportation, in New Jersey.

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