The U.S. Tried—and Failed—to Fabricate a Case Against Mahmoud Khalil

They Had No Evidence. Just Propaganda.

Let’s be crystal clear: the U.S. government has no evidence that Mahmoud Khalil did anything wrong. None. And now, under pressure from a federal immigration judge to prove that his indefinite detention had any legal basis, the government finally showed its hand—and revealed the obvious: there is no case.

On April 10, the Department of Homeland Security submitted a two-page memo to the court—two pages, no charges, no evidence, no proof, no Hamas. Just ideological buzzwords and vague insinuations. The memo, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, doesn’t accuse Khalil of any criminal activity. Instead, it argues that he should be deported for his beliefs—for engaging in speech that the state decided was too disruptive, too truthful, too pro-Palestinian.

This wasn’t a submission of evidence. It was a confession.

They couldn’t prove their claims—so they leaned on raw power.

What Did They Submit? A Nothingburger of a Memo.

Rubio’s memo invokes Section 237(a)(4)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows deportation of non-citizens if their presence is deemed damaging to U.S. foreign policy. It doesn’t require proof of a crime. Just a “belief” that their existence is inconvenient to the empire. That’s what they cited. That’s all they cited.

It mentions Khalil’s lawful participation in protests. It repeats the phrase “antisemitic” without offering a single specific act. It calls pro-Palestine campus activism “disruptive,” and claims—again, without evidence—that Khalil’s presence “undermines efforts to combat antisemitism.”

This is the criminalization of dissent through the backdoor of immigration law. And it is as fascist as it sounds.

To Everyone Who Said Mahmoud Was “Linked to Hamas”: You Got Played.

Remember when DHS spokespersons were telling reporters Khalil was “aligned with Hamas”? When Zionist media accounts flooded Twitter/X with posts calling him an “agent,” “sympathizer,” “terrorist”?

Well, here’s the moment of truth: none of that is in the government’s official court submission.

Why? Because they know they can’t prove it. Because they know it was a lie.

To all the pundits, journalists, and liberals who blindly repeated that propaganda—you got propagandized.

You swallowed a narrative pushed by a government trying to deport someone not for what he’s done, but for what he believes. And you helped launder that narrative for them.

This Is Political Repression, Full Stop.

This case isn’t about Mahmoud Khalil as an individual. It’s about what he represents: an outspoken Palestinian activist, highly educated, organizing on U.S. campuses, and refusing to be silenced. That is what the state fears.

It’s also no coincidence that this comes as the Trump regime is threatening Columbia University and other institutions with funding cuts unless they purge pro-Palestine student movements, adopt the IHRA’s anti-Palestinian “antisemitism” definition, and criminalize resistance as hate.

This is a coordinated campaign of Zionist-state repression—weaponizing immigration courts, executive power, and public disinformation to punish Palestine solidarity as if it were treason.

This Is Fascism Wearing a Bureaucratic Badge.

No charges. No crime. No evidence. Just a red-stamped memo from a political operative and a detention cell in Louisiana. This is what “rule of law” looks like in the U.S. if you’re Palestinian, pro-liberation, and refusing to be quiet.

They wanted to make Mahmoud an example. But what they made was a symbol.

A symbol of the shamelessness of empire. A symbol of resistance that won’t be deported into silence.

So what now? We keep saying it:

• Free Mahmoud Khalil.

• Dismantle ICE.

• End the U.S.-Zionist repression alliance.

• And never forget who was silent—or complicit—when the state tried to erase him.