Mahmoud Khalil, ringleader of Palestine riots at Columbia University, appeals to Supreme Court to fight deportation

Mahmoud Khalil.

One of the ringleaders of the protests that roiled the campus of Columbia University in New York City who was subsequently arrested by ICE and set to be deported is fighting the deportation order by appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Mahmoud Khalil on Monday asked the Supreme Court to intervene in a bid to prevent his deportation from the U.S. Khalil is not a citizen, rather a permanent resident who is married to a U.S. citizen.

He was arrested last year by immigration officers and detained for his role as one of the ringleaders of ongoing riots that rocked the campus of Columbia University in New York City for months, and at points turned violent and resulted in vandalism -- as can be seen in the video below. He was a student in a master's degree program at the time, and was in the country on a student visa. 

Khalil was detained in March of 2025 after Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared Khalil and his actions were antithetical to U.S. national interests. "You should watch the news," Rubio said at the time when questioned about it on Face The Nation. "These guys take over entire buildings, they shut down colleges," he said. "We don’t need these people in our country." Khalil is a supporter of Hamas who has expressed backing for the Oct. 7 terror attack against Israel.

As is often the case, a judge disagreed and ordered Khalil to be released, but an appeals court recently ruled he could be arrested again and possibly deported. “If the decision stands, the government would be handed a powerful and unprecedented weapon to silence its critics, and to chill the speech of countless others, including citizens, who wish to avoid the government’s wrath against themselves and their loved ones,” Khalil’s lawyers wrote in their petition, according to The Hill.

Khalil attended New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's election night party. Last year, in an interview with a New York Times podcaster, Khalil suggested the massacre of civilians was necessary.