Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed the feds can deport Mahmoud Khalil solely over his “antisemitic” beliefs, ahead of a Friday hearing in his immigration case.

Lawyers for the detained Columbia graduate said that the lack of substantive charges against him requires more information from the secretary of state. They acknowledge they are likely to fail.

Khalil, a Columbia graduate student who helped lead protests against the war in Gaza last year, was arrested by immigration authorities on March 8.

An immigration judge in Louisiana said she will decide later this week whether the government can continue to detain Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University activist facing deportation for his role in pro-Palestinian campus protests.

Khalil's attorneys say the government's case against their client largely rests on a single letter from Secretary of State Marco Rubio alleging that Khalil participated in "antisemitic" and "disruptive activities.

Khalil's attorneys say the government's case against their client largely rests on a single letter from Secretary of State Marco Rubio alleging that Khalil participated in "antisemitic" and "disruptive activities.

Khalil Mahmoud, was arrested, detained without charges, and designated a threat to national security solely because of his participation in pro-Palestinian protests.

An immigration judge on Tuesday gave the U.S. government a day to show evidence that Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil should be deported and said she would rule on the case on Friday, a month after his arrest in New York and transfer to a rural Louisiana jail 1,

Nearly 400 students and recent graduates have seen their visas revoked by immigration officials in the weeks surrounding the arrest of Columbia alumnus Mahmoud Khalil, igniting concerns about First Amendment and immigration rights.

Russian-American woman Ksenia Karelina, who was serving a 12-year prison sentence for treason in Russia, has been released and is on her way to the United States, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X on Thursday.

U.S.-Russian dual citizen Ksenia Karelina was released from Russian prison in an overnight prisoner exchange, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Thursday.

She was convicted of treason last year on charges stemming from a donation of about 52 dollars (£40) to a charity aiding Ukraine.

Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina, who has been wrongfully detained in Russia, is on her way back to the United States following a prisoner swap with Moscow.

Moscow freed a Russian American convicted of treason in exchange for a Russian German man jailed on smuggling charges in the U.S., a prisoner swap that was completed Thursday as the two countries met to repair ties.