Washington: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced that the green cards and visas of Hamas supporters in the US are being revoked so that they can be deported. Despite the Secretary of State’s announcement, a US federal court has blocked the Trump administration from forcibly deporting pro-Palestinian figure Mahmoud Khalil, according to the news agency.

Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder, was challenged in court by his lawyer Amy Grier, on which Judge Jesse Firmin has set a hearing date for March 12. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil from his university apartment in Manhattan while he was staying with his pregnant wife. He had previously been detained in Louisiana.

President Donald Trump acknowledged that Khalil’s arrest was carried out under his executive order, while Elon Musk has also accused him of links to Hamas. On the other hand, the “Action Network”, an organization active in demanding Khalil’s release, has collected 900,000 signatures, calling the Trump administration’s move racist and an attempt to suppress pro-Palestinian sentiment.