U.S. immigration judge rules pro-Hamas Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported

Columbia University graduate student and Hamas-linked activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported from the U.S. as a national security risk, an immigration judge in Louisiana found Friday.

The government’s contention that Khalil’s presence in the United States posed “potentially serious foreign policy consequences” was enough to satisfy requirements for his deportation, Immigration Judge Jamee E. Comans said at the conclusion of a hearing in Jena.

Comans said the government had “established by clear and convincing evidence that he is removable.”

Lawyers for Khalil said they will appeal and seek a waiver.