A U.S. immigration judge ruled that Mahmoud Khalil, the spokesman for Columbia University protesters, can be deported by the Trump administration.

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.

JENA, La. (AP) — Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil can be deported as a national security risk, an immigration judge in Louisiana ruled Friday during a hearing over the legality of kicking the activist who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations out of the U.S.