NEW: The Trump administration is seeking to deport Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil specifically via INA Section 237 (a)(4)(C) after Secretary Rubio "found that his presence and activities in the U.S. would compromise a compelling US foreign policy interest, rendering him deportable," a senior State Department official tells me.
Section 237 of the INA broadly contains grounds for which an alien who is in the US after having been admitted or having their status adjusted to that of a lawful permanent resident may be removed.
Section 237 (a)(4)(C) is a rarely used provision of the law that allows the Secretary of State to seek to deport "an alien whose presence or activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States."
The law gives the Secretary of State broad power to declare an alien deportable for the reasons above, with no requirement that any crime be committed.
Bill Melugin