The most infamous foreign student activist against Israel and for Hamas at an American university could finally face deportation.
While the Trump administration has tried to deport Columbia University student and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil more than once, woke judges have interfered, and the Trump administration has agreed to follow their ridiculous demands on Khalil’s behalf. But a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official indicated Wednesday evening that Khalil’s destination after deportation is tentatively settled.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said on NewsNation’s Katie Pavlich Tonight on Wednesday, “It looks like he’ll go to Algeria. That’s what the thought is right now.” She followed up with a more widely applicable caution: “It’s a reminder for those who are in this country on a visa or on a green card. You are a guest in this country — act like it.”
Importantly, the Trump administration accuses Khalil of committing fraud on his green card application. And, of course, the federal government can revoke a visa or green card from anyone who shows himself a threat to our national security by supporting foreign terrorist entities, or by deliberately riling up social unrest, as Khalil did. Residing and studying in America as a foreign national is a privilege, not a right.
Read Also: Blue Lives Matter Says It Decoyed Anti-ICE Crazies
Indeed, those were exactly the words used by McLaughlin: “It is a privilege, not a right, to be in this country to live or to study.” That is why no judge should be able to dictate that Khalil “has to stay” in the United States.
The Trump-Rubio State Department has revoked 100,000 visas for criminal activity, including 8,000 student visas. The pro-Hamas riots that convulsed so many American campi following the Oct. 7, 2023, atrocities in Israel were a mix of brainwashed American leftists and foreign student agitators. Muslim foreign nationals, like Khalil, not infrequently acted as leaders or rabble-rousers for the violent and usually explicitly anti-Jewish protests.
In October, swollen with entitlement due to drooling praise from such politicians as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and the intervention of woke judges, Khalil actually had the hutzpah to whine that his appeals process moved too fast. Poor little terrorist sympathizer — the American courts don’t move at exactly his preferred pace.
Interesting, isn’t it, that despite his noisy empathy for Palestinian terrorists, Khalil has no interest in going to Gaza or to any Muslim nation? He wants to stay in a Western nation founded on Judeo-Christian values even while vilifying that nation. It’s almost as if he’s a huge hypocrite.
An excerpt from my colleague Tim O’Brien helps explain why Khalil might be sent to Algeria:
[Khalil] is not an American citizen. He was born in the mid-1990s at a refugee camp in Syria. His parents are described as Palestinian and Algerian, so he has citizenship in Algeria. Before coming to America, he had earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science at Lebanese American University in Beirut, Lebanon, and then applied for admission into Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. In December of 2024, he received his master of public administration degree… Columbia became the site of some of the most contentious activity, and [Khalil] was at the heart of it all…He was, in effect, the ringleader.
It’s long past time to boot Khalil out of America.
Editor’s Note: Support and follow PJ Media’s coverage of immigration enforcement and other key news in this new year. Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member