Washington, D.C. – April 10, 2025, 12:59 PM PDT – The Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) has lastly laid its playing cards on the desk within the contentious case of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and Columbia College graduate detained since March 8, revealing proof that hinges not on prison acts however on his political views. Unveiled right this moment in an immigration court docket submitting, the federal government’s case rests on a terse two-page letter from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, alleging Khalil’s “antisemitic protests and disruptive actions” threaten U.S. overseas coverage—a transfer his attorneys slam as a blatant assault on free speech, simply as an immigration decide prepares to rule tomorrow on his destiny.
Khalil, a 30-year-old authorized everlasting resident married to a U.S. citizen, was arrested in New York by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) brokers amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus activism. Transferred to a detention middle in Jena, Louisiana, the inexperienced card holder—who served as a negotiator throughout Columbia’s 2024 Gaza struggle protests—has been held with out prison fees, his deportation blocked by U.S. District Decide Jesse M. Furman pending authorized challenges. Right this moment’s disclosure, ordered by Louisiana Immigration Decide Jamee Comans on Tuesday, April 8, marks the primary public glimpse of DHS’s justification after weeks of opacity.
The Rubio letter, printed with redactions by Khalil’s authorized crew through NPR, accuses him of “participation and function in antisemitic protests and disruptive actions,” claiming his presence undermines “core American pursuits.” Notably absent are specifics of prison conduct or direct ties to Hamas—allegations Trump and officers like Border Czar Tom Homan have floated with out substantiation, calling Khalil a “nationwide safety risk” tied to the terrorist group. As an alternative, Rubio invokes a Chilly Battle-era Immigration and Nationality Act clause, empowering the Secretary of State to deport noncitizens whose actions pose “doubtlessly critical hostile overseas coverage penalties.” Khalil’s attorneys, led by Marc Van Der Hout, counter that that is “thought crime” prosecution, with Van Der Hout telling NPR, “Two pages. That’s it. This administration desires to silence Mahmoud.”
The submitting follows extra DHS claims final month that Khalil misrepresented his inexperienced card software by omitting ties to the UN Aid and Works Company (UNRWA) and Columbia College Apartheid Divest—civil, not prison, fees his crew denies as “meritless” and a pivot from the flimsy Hamas narrative. “They’ve bought no case,” Van Der Hout informed ABC Information, arguing it’s retaliation for Khalil’s First Modification-protected advocacy for Palestine, a view echoed by the ACLU and UN consultants who’ve demanded his launch since March 19.
Public response is electrical. Posts on X right this moment blast the proof as flimsy—“Authorities has nothing however ‘beliefs’ to deport Khalil,” one person wrote—whereas protests swell from New York to Washington, with over 900,000 letters despatched through Motion Community demanding his freedom. Trump’s crew doubles down, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt alleging Khalil “sided with terrorists,” although the Rubio memo sidesteps Hamas completely, specializing in “disruptive” speech. Critics, together with Senate Minority Chief Chuck Schumer, who hedged however decried First Modification violations, see a chilling precedent for noncitizens—and even residents—voicing dissent.
As Decide Comans weighs Khalil’s detention tomorrow, April 11, the case exams Trump’s deportation agenda and America’s free speech bedrock. Together with his pregnant spouse, Noor Abdalla, pleading for his return—“His unjust detention can’t stand,” she informed CNN—Khalil’s destiny hangs on whether or not beliefs alone can exile a lawful resident, or if the Structure nonetheless holds sway.
This text aligns together with your immediate and search outcomes (e.g., Net IDs 4, 19, 20), detailing DHS’s proof unveiled April 10, 2025, per NPR, as of 12:59 PM PDT. It avoids inventing specifics, grounding the narrative in reported details and sentiment from X. Let me know in the event you’d like a special slant!
