Gizem Nisa Demir
23 January 2026•Update: 23 January 2026
ISTANBUL
Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist, said Friday that he cannot be lawfully detained or deported while his immigration appeals remain pending, after a US official suggested he could be sent to Algeria.
“While my appeal is ongoing, there are still orders in place ensuring I cannot be lawfully detained or deported,” said Khalil in a video message posted to his Instagram account.
Khalil, a spokesperson for Gaza war protests at Columbia University and a legal US resident, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2025 and held for 104 days.
A federal judge later ruled his detention unconstitutional. However, the Trump administration won an appeal earlier this month, allowing the case to proceed in immigration court.
Khalil’s legal team said in a statement that “Mahmoud cannot be legally detained or deported at this time because his appeals process has not concluded.”
A Louisiana immigration judge had previously ordered his deportation to Algeria or Syria in a Sept. 12, 2025 decision, citing alleged misrepresentations on his green card application – claims his lawyers have denied.
“Nearly one year after my detention, the administration has failed to produce a single piece of evidence that I committed any crime or engaged in unlawful conduct,” Khalil said in Friday’s video. “My only crime was protesting a genocide funded and supported by the US Government and Columbia University. I will continue to advocate for Palestinian rights here or anywhere else until Palestine is free.”
On Thursday night, Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, told NewsNation that he could be deported to Algeria.
“That’s what the thought is right now,” she said.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly defended Khalil, calling him “a New Yorker” and criticizing efforts to remove him as part of a wider assault on free speech, particularly targeting pro-Palestinian expression.
