Mahmoud Khalil will appeal his deportation from the US to the Supreme Court Donald Trump News

Pro-Palestinian advocate says Trump administration targeted him to defend free speech at US Supreme Court.

Mahmoud Khalil, who is expected to be deported by the administration of the US President, Donald Trump, because of his support for the Palestinian state, will appeal his case to the Supreme Court, according to his lawyers.

The announcement on Friday came after a federal appeals court – in a 6-5 decision – refused to hear Khalil’s appeal against his detention.

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Khalil has pursued two legal avenues since his arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in March 2025.

The former challenged his arrest on civil rights grounds, arguing that his right to free speech as a permanent resident of the United States had been suppressed.

Last June, a federal judge sided with Khalil, ordering his release from prison and barring deportation. However, the appeals court later ruled that the judge in the original decision had no jurisdiction over the matter.

After Friday’s ruling, the case will now go to the US Supreme Court.

“Today’s decision is not the final word, and we remain confident in our arguments moving forward,” Brett Max Kaufman, general counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said in a statement.

“Federal courts should have the power to intervene when the government uses our immigration system to punish people for their constitutionally protected speech. If the Trump administration can target, arrest, detain, and deport Mahmoud for his speech, they can do the same to anyone who expresses an opinion they disagree with.”

Separately, Khalil’s legal team has been challenging his deportation in US immigration courts.

Last month, the Board of Immigration Appeals issued a final decision on removal, but Khalil’s lawyers appealed the decision.

In filings last week, his lawyers argued that new evidence showed Khalil’s case had “obvious problems”.

They pointed to a report by The New York Times that found Khalil’s case was considered a priority before reaching the Board of Immigration Appeals, which his lawyers say shows the case was “rushed”.

The report also found that three Immigration Judges dismissed the case. Although the reasons for the rejection have not been disclosed, experts familiar with the organization’s operations have said that the number of layoffs is extremely rare.

Khalil and his legal team have argued that they are being unfairly treated as an example of the Trump administration, which has used immigration enforcement to crack down on Palestinian protesters.

US Secretary of State Marco called for the Immigration and Nationality Act to be enacted against Khalil. This section allows for the deportation of people deemed to be a national security threat based on “past, current or perceived beliefs, expressions, or organizations that are otherwise legitimate”.

The authorities later added that Khalil had deliberately failed to disclose his previous employment to the UN refugee agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) in his immigration application.

The Board of Immigration Appeals has ruled that all of these grounds are valid for Khalil’s deportation.

Khalil has not been charged and authorities have not presented evidence that he represents a national security threat.

In his statement last week, Mr. Khalil said that the authorities “want to arrest me, detain me, and deport me to threaten anyone who speaks about Palestine throughout the country, and they are ready to violate the laws and measures that the US has already taken”.