An immigration appeals board has denied Mahmoud Khalil’s latest bid to stop his deportation case, a largely expected decision his lawyers said tightens the timeline toward possible re-arrest and expulsion. The Board of Immigration Appeals issued the final order of removal on Thursday, according to Khalil’s attorneys, but the board’s rulings are not public, and an inquiry to the U.S. Department of Justice was not immediately returned, they said.

Khalil is a Palestinian activist who has been fighting removal after his arrest last March, when he became one of the first people whose detention was publicly known in a federal crackdown targeting noncitizens who publicly criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza. Khalil spent 104 days in an immigration jail before a federal judge in New Jersey ordered his release.

In a statement, Khalil said he was not surprised by the Board of Immigration Appeals ruling and called it “biased and politically motivated.” His lawyers said the government has not presented evidence connecting him to Hamas, and they said Khalil cannot be lawfully detained or deported as he pursues a separate case in the federal court system.

Khalil’s attorneys and supporters have also characterized the deportation effort as retaliation tied to his role in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University. The government has claimed Khalil’s protest activity was “aligned to Hamas,” and Khalil has also denied allegations of antisemitism, according to his lawyers.

The legal fight has also hinged on where Khalil’s challenges may be raised. Earlier this year, a U.S. appeals panel found in a 2-1 decision that the judge in New Jersey overstepped by releasing Khalil, and the panel said the law requires the case to fully move through the immigration courts before Khalil can challenge it in federal court.

After the appeals panel ruling, Khalil’s lawyers have sought further reconsideration from a full appeals panel. They also asked one appellate judge to step aside earlier this month, saying the judge had previously played a role as a top Justice Department official involved in investigating student protesters.

Khalil said he could be targeted, and even killed, if he is deported. He was born in Syria to a Palestinian family, holds Algerian citizenship through a distant relative, and has described the case as a politically motivated use of the immigration system to penalize him for speaking out on what he has called the genocide in Palestine.