An immigration appeals board has issued a final order of removal against Mahmoud Khalil — a legal permanent resident who led pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University. The government has presented no evidence connecting him to Hamas. His only offense is speaking out.

Khalil spent 104 days in immigration detention, missing the birth of his first child. A federal judge ordered his release. Now the Trump administration is pushing to re-arrest and deport him to a country where his lawyers say he could be killed.

This is not immigration enforcement. It is political punishment. The administration has weaponized the immigration system to silence a legal resident for protected speech — and is now racing to expel him before federal courts can intervene.

We call on President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to immediately halt Mahmoud Khalil's deportation and release him to his family while his federal case is heard.

Photo by Melanie Einzig for the Forward