Experts say Palestinian activists Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder, cannot be deported without legal proceedings

The detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a student of Columbia University and Palestinian activist who has a green card, has raised questions about the risk of deportation faced by permanent permanent population amid increasing hard action against immigration.

President Donald Trump’s administration, who accused Khalil was a supporter of Hamas, said he had the authority to deport Khalil based on immigration and nationalism laws.

“Secretary [Marco] Rubio has the right to revoke the Mahmoud Khalil visa under the law of immigration and nationality, the State Secretary has the right to revoke a green card or visa for individuals who are hostile to foreign policy and the national security interests of the United States, “said the Press Secretary of the White House Karoline Levitt during this week’s press conference.

Khalil, whose detention triggered protests this week, was married to an American citizen who was eight months pregnant. He has not been charged with a crime, and some supporters accuse the government kidnapped him.

Under the law of immigration nationality, which according to experts rarely called, the government can demand green card holders as deported without being punished for crime if there is reasonable reasons to believe that they are involved in certain criminal activities or terrorists.

But the experts and lawyers of Immigration ABC News spoke with the statute did not give the State Secretary for the strength to deport green card holders such as Khalil without going through procedures.

“The way of law was built, that does not mean that the Rubio secretary can only say, ‘Oh, I determine this, and therefore we will only deport you abroad,'” said Greg Chen of the American Immigration Lawyer Association. “You still have to go through a process.”

After the federal government requested the law, people like Khalil have the right to debate their case before the immigration judge. Khalil will appear before the immigration judge at the end of this month in Louisiana.

“There are several legal processes and protection procedures that are entitled to the person,” Chen said, “including given a notification about the accusation, and the opportunity to face the evidence and to submit his own evidence as a response.”

Chen told ABC News that usually it could take months or even years for immigration cases to “change from the beginning” -but because of the “unique state” of Khalil, a judge can prioritize a case and speed up the process.

Experts told ABC News that there are a number of reasons why someone can lose their green card, including marriage fraud, immigration fraud, violent crime and other violations.

Andrew Nietor, an immigration lawyer, told ABC News that while there was a case in which the government requested immigration and national law for certain green card holders with criminal penalties, he said he had never seen cases like Khalil.

“I have never seen the basis of this deportation called,” Nietor said. “Almost always a green card holder who is almost always in the process of deportation because of several types of criminal penalties.”