Pro-Palestinian advocates have argued to the U.S. Supreme Court that the Trump administration targeted him because of free speech protections.
Mahmoud Khalil, who is being deported by US President Donald Trump’s administration because of his pro-Palestinian views, plans to appeal to the Supreme Court, his lawyers announced.
Friday’s announcement came after a federal appeals court, in a 6-5 decision, declined to review Mr. Khalil’s case challenging his immigration detention.
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Khalil has gone through two legal proceedings since being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in March 2025.
The first challenged his detention on civil liberties grounds, arguing that his right to free speech as a permanent resident of the United States had been violated.
Last June, a federal judge sided with Khalil and ordered his release from immigration detention and a ban on deportation. However, a federal appeals court later ruled that the original sentencing judge did not have jurisdiction over the matter.
Following Friday’s ruling, the case will go to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Today’s decision is not final, and we continue to strongly believe in our cause,” Brett Max Kaufman, senior counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said in a statement.
“When the government abuses our immigration system to punish people for their constitutionally protected speech, federal courts must have the power to intervene. If the Trump administration can target, arrest, detain, and deport Mr. Mahmoud for his speech, they can do it against anyone who expresses views with which they disagree.”
Separately, Khalil’s lawyers are challenging his deportation in U.S. immigration court.
Last month, the Board of Immigration Appeals issued a final deportation order, but Khalil’s lawyers also appealed the decision.
His lawyers argued in a filing last week that there is new evidence showing Mr. Khalil’s case was subject to “obvious procedural anomalies.”
They pointed to a New York Times report that revealed Mr. Khalil’s case had been flagged as a high-priority case before it was submitted to the Board of Immigration Appeals, which his lawyers argued showed the case was “moving quickly.”
The report also revealed that three judges on the Immigration Appeals Board recused themselves from the case. The reasons for the revocations were not made public, but experts familiar with the commission’s procedures said the rate of revocations was extremely rare.
Mr. Khalil and his lawyers have long argued that he has been unfairly framed by the Trump administration, which has cracked down on immigration and cracked down on pro-Palestinian protesters.
Secretary of State Marcos invoked an unusual provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act in targeting Mr. Khalil. This provision allows for the deportation of individuals deemed to be a national security threat based on “past, present, or anticipated beliefs, statements, or otherwise lawful associations.”
The administration later added allegations that Mr. Khalil failed to disclose his past work with the United Nations Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA) on his immigration application.
The Board of Immigration Appeals ruled that both grounds were valid for Mr. Khalil’s deportation.
Khalil has never been charged with a crime, and the administration has presented no evidence that he poses a national security threat.
Khalil said in a statement last week that the administration “wants to arrest, detain, and deport me to intimidate everyone who speaks out for Palestine across this country, and is willing to violate long-standing U.S. rules and procedures to do so.”
