A top US immigration judge has ruled that the Trump administration can deport Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil under a decades-old federal statute.

Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Jamee Comans, who was appointed to her position in 2023 by the Biden DOJ, found that due to Khalil's involvement in violent pro-Palestinian protests in the waning days of the Biden administration, his continued presence in the United States raised "potentially serious foreign policy consequences."

The decision is the latest development in Secretary of State Marco Rubio's efforts to deport Khalil under the McCarran-Walter Act of 1952, which allows Rubio to deport noncitizens that pose a risk to the government's foreign policy aims.

According to Comans, the government had shown "clear and convincing evidence that he is removable."

Khalil, who is a lawful permanent US resident but not a citizen, was arrested on March 8 in his university apartment as part of a series of arrests resulting from President Trump's vow to deport students who took part in riots and protests across American universities last year.

Rubio concluded that Khalil was eligible for deportation under the law, which prohibits "presence or activities in the United States the secretary of state has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States."

In her ruling, Comans said that Khalil has no basis to challenge that determination - but has until April 23 to request a state of his deportation. If he does not request one by that deadline, he will be deported to either Syria or Algeria, NPR reports.

His lawyers are expected to appeal, according to AP.