New York, New York - In a new memo signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Trump administration defended its attempted deportation of Palestine liberation activist Mahmoud Khalil by claiming the authority to expel noncitizens over "beliefs" or "statements" that could impact US foreign policy interests.

The memo was obtained by the Associated Press on Thursday as the federal government runs against a deadline to provide evidence in Khalil's case.

In it, Rubio wrote that Khalil's presence in the US would "undermine US policy to combat antisemitism around the world and in the US".

The memo argued that while Khalil's "past, current, or expected beliefs, statements, or associations" are "otherwise lawful," the Secretary of State holds the power to decide whether a migrant like Khalil would "compromise a compelling US foreign policy interest," thus providing what the administration claims is a valid reason for deportation.

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Khalil, a legal permanent US resident who played a key role in Palestinian solidarity demonstrations at Columbia University, was arrested by immigration officers on March 8.

His legal team has called out the Trump administration for ignoring their requests for evidence in the case, with Khalil's lead immigration attorney, Marc Van Der Hout, telling the ACLU that the federal government "has provided no proof or evidence that these charges bear any viability against Mahmoud."

Ramzi Kassem, co-director of CLEAR and Professor of Law at the City University of New York, also criticized the new memo, saying in a statement, "This makes plain that the Trump Administration believes it needs nothing more than Rubio's say so to place a US permanent resident in removal proceedings simply because it dislikes that person's outspoken opposition to US and Israeli policy and support for Palestinian rights.

"Contrary to Rubio's claim, this does not put Americans first – quite the opposite, in fact, it undermines free speech rights for all."