The U.S. government has accused Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil of failing to disclose his past work with a United Nations Palestinian relief agency on his visa application. Officials argue that this omission could be grounds for his deportation. The agency in question, UNRWA, provides food and healthcare to Palestinian refugees but has been at the centre of controversy amid the Israeli war in Gaza. Israel claims that 12 UNRWA employees were involved in Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack, prompting the U.S. to suspend funding to the organisation. UNRWA, however, stated that Khalil was only a brief, unpaid intern.

On March 8, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump detained Mahmoud Khalil, a key figure in last year’s pro-Palestinian protests, at Columbia University. It transferred him to Louisiana to deport him. Khalil’s case has sparked debate over free speech rights, with his supporters arguing that he is being punished for opposing U.S. policy on Israel and its occupation of Gaza. He has described himself as a political prisoner. The U.S. government claims that Khalil’s presence or activities could have profound foreign policy implications. However, a judge has ruled that he cannot be deported while his lawsuit challenging his detention, known as a habeas petition, is being reviewed in another federal court.

Khalil, originally from Syria and an Algerian citizen, arrived in the U.S. on a student visa in 2022 and later applied for permanent residency in 2024.

In a court filing on Sunday, the U.S. government presented its case for keeping him in custody during his deportation proceedings. It also argued that the U.S. District Court in New Jersey, where the habeas case is being heard, does not have jurisdiction over the matter. The brief states that Khalil "withheld membership in certain organisations," which should be sufficient grounds for his deportation.

A March 17 document in Mahmoud Khalil’s deportation case stated that he could face removal for not disclosing his role as a political officer at UNRWA in 2023. However, a UNRWA spokesperson clarified that Khalil was never on the agency’s payroll during his brief internship and that the organisation does not have a position titled "political affairs officer." In August, the UN reported that an investigation found nine out of UNRWA’s 32,000 employees may have been involved in the October 7 attacks.

Additionally, the U.S. court notice alleges that Khalil failed to mention in his visa application that he had worked for the Syria office at the British embassy in Beirut and was a member of the Columbia University Apartheid Divest group.

Khalil's attorneys did not respond to a request for comment. However, The New York Times quoted Ramie Kassem, an attorney and co-director of the legal clinic CLEAR, describing the new deportation grounds as "patently weak and pretextual." According to the Times, Kassem argued, "That the government scrambled to add them at the 11th hour only highlights how its motivation from the start was to retaliate against Mr. Khalil for his protected speech in support of Palestinian rights and lives."