Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia University graduate and pro-Palestinian activist, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review his deportation case. The justices should take it up, and federal officials should drop their effort to deport him for speaking out.

Khalil is a lawful permanent resident with a green card. Federal immigration agents arrested him in March 2025 after he helped lead campus protests about the war in Gaza. Officials argued that his presence in the country hurt U.S. foreign policy. He has not been charged with a crime.

The First Amendment protects political speech, including speech that many people strongly disagree with. Voices from the left and the right have warned that if the government can deport someone for lawful protest, no viewpoint is truly safe. Today it is one activist’s views on the Middle East. Tomorrow it could be a pastor, a gun rights advocate or a union organizer.

The stakes reach well beyond one person. According to Documented, a New York immigration news outlet, the outcome could decide whether other immigrants get their day in court when they face deportation or detention.

Free speech and fair hearings are not partisan values. They are American values, and the Supreme Court has the power to protect both.

Sign the petition to urge the Supreme Court to hear Mahmoud Khalil’s case and to tell federal officials to stop his deportation, before the courthouse door closes for everyone.