00:02The former Columbia University grad student at the center of a high-profile deportation case
00:08for his pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel actions at the university more than a year ago
00:14is now one step closer to being removed from the country.
00:17The Federal Immigration Appeals Board has rejected the appeal of Mahmoud Khalil.
00:22According to Khalil's lawyers, the board issued a final order of removal on Thursday.
00:26Khalil was born in Syria, has citizenship in Algeria, but is a legal permanent resident of the U.S.
00:34Federal authorities arrested him last March, alleging that he led anti-Israel protests at Columbia
00:39and the demonstrations were aligned with Hamas.
00:42Khalil claims he was only a spokesman for the Palestinian cause.
00:46He spent more than 100 days in immigration detention facilities.
00:50Khalil released a statement after Thursday's ruling saying,
00:53The only thing I am guilty of is speaking out against the genocide in Palestine,
00:57and this administration has weaponized the immigration system to punish me for it.
01:02The Board of Immigration Appeals is run by the Justice Department.
01:06A federal appeals court in New Jersey ruled earlier this year
01:09that Khalil's case must go through the immigration court system
01:13before he can challenge its rulings in federal court.
01:16The Board of Immigration Appeals
01:18The Board of Immigration Appeals
01:19The Board of Immigration Appeals
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