A Louisiana immigration judge said Friday that Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil – a legal permanent resident – can be deported after the United States government argued his presence posed “potentially serious foreign policy consequences.

The decision by a judge in Louisiana is an early victory for Secretary of State Marco Rubio, but a broader challenge is still being heard in federal court in Newark.

By Jonathan Allen JENA, Louisiana (Reuters) -A U.S. immigration judge ruled on Friday that Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported, allowing President Donald Trump's administration to proceed with its effort to remove the Columbia University student from the United States a month after his arrest in New York City.