The U.S. government has alleged that Mahmoud Khalil withheld that he worked for a United Nations Palestinian relief agency in his visa application.

He remains in detention in Louisiana as his attorneys fight his detention and the Trump administration argues he "led activities aligned to Hamas."

The Trump administration – after accusing Columbia University graduate and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil of being a Hamas sympathizer without providing evidence – now says Khalil’s deportation is justified because he did not reveal connections to two organizations in his application to become a permanent US resident,