US claims activist Mahmoud Khalil concealed working for UNRWA in residency application

ISTANBUL

The Trump administration has accused pro-Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil of concealing his membership in the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in his permanent residency application.

The US administration is reportedly using new allegations against Khalil to avoid First Amendment concerns in his case, according to The New York Times.

The allegations, outlined in a Homeland Security document, claim Khalil failed to disclose his work with the UN agency and Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a student coalition behind pro-Palestinian protests at the university.

The US government also alleged that Khalil did not disclose his previous employment with the Syria Office at the British Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon.

Khalil's lawyers plan to argue that the new accusations are a pretext for retaliating against his speech.

Khalil’s legal team is seeking his release in New Jersey, separate from the Louisiana immigration case that could lead to his deportation. To deport him, the government must prove that his failure to disclose the information was intentional and would have affected his residency application.

Khalil was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on March 8 at his university-owned apartment. The arrest followed an order by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to revoke his student visa and green card.

The Trump administration has accused Khalil, who played a prominent role in pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the school last year, of engaging in “activities aligned with Hamas,” though no evidence has been provided.

Khalil’s wife, an American citizen residing in New York, is due to give birth next month.