NEWARK, N.J. — Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil remains in custody in Louisiana as a U.S. judge deliberates whether his legal challenge against detention should proceed in a federal court in New Jersey or Louisiana.
The Trump administration argues that Khalil’s challenge belongs in Louisiana, where he is currently detained and where appeals would be overseen by the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz in Newark did not indicate when he would rule but expressed hope that “judges are judges, and they’re going to see things the same way in whatever place.”
The case tests the government’s efforts to deport pro-Palestinian activists who have not been charged with crimes. Khalil’s lawyers contend that he was targeted for his political views and leadership in student protests, and they have requested his release from jail while he fights the deportation case in immigration court.
Khalil, 30, has been held in Louisiana since his arrest earlier this month. His wife, Noor Abdalla, a U.S. citizen, attended Friday’s hearing and is expecting their first child in April. Khalil was briefly detained in New Jersey following his arrest in Manhattan.
The government has asked Judge Farbiarz to either transfer the case to Louisiana or dismiss the proceeding, allowing Khalil to challenge his detention there. The Trump administration claims Khalil and other international students involved in pro-Palestinian protests threaten U.S. foreign policy interests and has revoked the visas of hundreds of foreign students involved in such demonstrations.
Khalil, who was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, came to the U.S. in 2022 on a student visa and gained legal permanent residency last year. The government accuses him of failing to disclose what it calls a “membership” in the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), though Khalil’s lawyers and UNRWA assert he completed an unpaid internship at its New York office as part of his Columbia master’s degree program.
The government also claims Khalil did not reveal continued employment at the British embassy in Beirut beyond 2022. Khalil’s attorneys say he correctly noted his departure from the position, and a spokesperson for the British Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office confirmed he left the embassy more than two years ago.
