US protesters have staged a rally in New York’s Times Square, demanding the release of detained Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil.

Khalil,30, was a prominent organizer of the pro-Palestine campus protests last year. He was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in New York City on March 8.

Demonstrators opposed to the Israeli regime’s genocidal war on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip assembled in Times Square in New York City late Saturday to demand Khalil be freed from incarceration.

Supporters of Khalil showed up despite rainy weather, chanting slogans and holding signs such as “Free Mahmoud Khalil Now!” and “Hands Off Our Students,” among others, the US media reported.

The protesters also demanded the release of other detained pro-Palestinians fighting deportation, including Badar Khan Suri, Rumeysa Ozturk, and Yunseo Chung.

Pro-Palestine activist Linda Sarsour, renowned for her anti-Israeli stance, addressed the protesters gathered in New York’s Times Square.

She encouraged the pro-Palestinians to show solidarity with Khalil and other detained pro-Palestinians fighting deportation. Khalil has separate court cases playing out in two states – the Louisiana case is focused on his deportation order and the New Jersey case is focused on his habeas petition challenging the legality of his detention.

On Friday, an immigration judge in a remote Louisiana court ruled during a court hearing that Khalil, who is a green card holder and married to an American wife, can be deported.

Judge Jamee Comans said during the contentious hearing that a two-page memo sent by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio explaining Khalil posed a risk to US foreign policy constituted “presumptive and sufficient evidence” for the Palestinian Columbia University graduate’s deportation.

“We don’t think this is the final word at all,” Marc Van Der Hout, an immigration attorney for Khalil, told CNN after the ruling.

Khalil’s legal team said they would appeal the court ruling and expected several more immigration hearings to be held before a final decision is made, after which they can make an appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals.

“Today, we saw our worst fears play out: Mahmoud was subject to a charade of due process, a flagrant violation of his right to a fair hearing, and a weaponization of immigration law to suppress dissent,” Van Der Hout said in a statement.

Khalil’s case has become a symbol of the Trump administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses.

Judge Comans gave Khalil’s legal team until April 23 to file an appeal. If they fail to meet the deadline, reports indicate that a “removal” order would be issued to deport Khalil, possibly to Syria, his country of birth.

The two-page memo submitted to Judge Comans by Rubio cites personal beliefs of Khalil justifying the decision to revoke Khalil’s green card status, as well as, presumably, Chung’s.

Rubio’s memo explains the basis for seeking their deportation under the Immigration and Nationality Act that allows a Secretary of State to personally determine that a non-citizen is deportable.

“I have determined that the activities and presence of these aliens in the United States would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences and would compromise a compelling US foreign policy interest,” Rubio wrote.

“The public actions and continued presence of [redacted] and Khalil in the United States undermine US policy to combat anti-Semitism around the world and in the United States, in addition to efforts to protect Jewish students from harassment and violence in the United States.”

However, Rubio’s memo cites no illegal activities by Khalil, explaining that his determination for the revocations was simply based on reports provided to him by agents regarding the pro-Palestinian students’ participating in “antisemitic protests and disruptive activities.”

In the meantime, students across the world have exercised their right to demonstrate and speak out against the Israelis’ brutal war since October 2023 against defenseless Palestinians in Gaza, which has left 51,000 people dead and turned the region into ruins.

Rubio said at a press conference on March 27 that at least 300 international students in the US who are “destabilizing” college campuses have had their visas revoked.