Trump admin accuses Columbia University grad of fraudulent green card application, ties to Hamas-linked UN group

President Donald Trump’s administration accused Mahmoud Khalil, a Syrian-born activist leader who previously attended Columbia University, of hiding his former employment at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

According to Sunday court filings, prosecutors alleged that Khalil withheld information on his green card application, including his previous role at the Hamas-tied UN agency.

'A red herring.'

Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Khalil earlier this month, in part over his involvement with the Columbia United Apartheid Divest, a group linked to disruptive and sometimes violent protests at Columbia University last year. The Trump administration has argued that Khalil is a foreign policy threat.

Khalil was detained as part of the administration’s pledge to revoke visas and deport foreign students who participate in pro-Hamas protests.

His lawyers have argued that he was targeted for his activism against Israel and that his detainment infringed on his First Amendment rights.

On Sunday, prosecutors stated, “Khalil’s First Amendment arguments falter on their own terms. Regardless of his allegations concerning political speech, Khalil withheld membership in certain organizations and failed to disclose continuing employment by the Syria Office in the British Embassy in Beirut when he submitted his adjustment of status application. It is black-letter law that misrepresentations in this context are not protected speech.”

The Trump administration claimed Khalil’s First Amendment defense was “a red herring.”

“There is an independent basis to justify removal sufficient to foreclose Khalil’s constitutional claim here,” prosecutors added.

Baher Azmy, one of Khalil’s attorneys, told CNN, “We’re not at all surprised because it’s a recognition that the initial charges are unsustainable.”

“So they’re going with a theory that they must think is more legally defensible. But I just think this doesn’t cure the obvious taint of retaliation,” Azmy added.

Azmy stated that they would “deal with” the claim Khalil failed to disclose certain information “when the time comes in the immigration court.”

“For now, for purposes of the federal case and his right to bond and ultimately his release from detention, we don’t think it undermines our case at all.”

Azmy plans to file a response by Tuesday afternoon.

Ramzi Kassem, another of Khalil’s attorneys, told the New York Times that the administration’s argument was “patently weak and pretextual.”

“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,” Kassem claimed.

Khalil’s lawyers claimed that he had not promoted Hamas.

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