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.

A Louisiana immigration judge has ruled that the U.S. can deport Mahmoud Khalil based on the federal government’s argument that he poses a national security risk. His lawyers are expected to appeal, and a federal judge in New Jersey has temporarily barred Khalil’s removal from the country.

Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student and green card holder from Syria, was arrested by immigration officials in March over his involvement in an on-campus pro-Palestinian protest last year.