A federal appeals court judge has temporarily allowed pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil to remain free while he prepares an appeal to the Supreme Court in his challenge against the Trump administration’s deportation efforts.
Judge Thomas Hardiman of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals paused the court’s earlier ruling that Khalil’s case must proceed through immigration courts rather than federal court. The move preserves a lower court order that barred the government from detaining or removing Khalil while litigation continues.
The 3rd Circuit had previously ruled Friday that U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz in New Jersey lacked jurisdiction when he ordered Khalil released from immigration detention last year after the former Columbia University graduate student spent more than 100 days in custody.
Khalil, a lawful permanent resident and green card holder, was arrested by federal immigration agents following his role in pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University against Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip. Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued Khalil posed a national security threat.
In appealing Friday’s ruling, Khalil’s lawyers warned that overturning Farbiarz’s order placed him at “imminent risk of detention (and removal)” before the Supreme Court could consider the case. The American Civil Liberties Union, representing Khalil, stated in a recent declaration that the legal fight remains unresolved. ACLU senior counsel Brett Max Kaufman emphasized: “Today’s decision is not the final word, and we still strongly believe in our arguments going forward.”
The broader dispute centers on whether the Trump administration can deport Khalil over his campus activism and criticism of Israel. In January, a three-judge panel of the 3rd Circuit concluded Khalil’s constitutional claims were premature because federal law requires such disputes to first move through the immigration court system under the Department of Justice. Dissenting Judge Cheryl Ann Krause criticized the court’s refusal to rehear the case, writing that the judiciary was “abdicating our duty to meaningfully review Khalil’s constitutional claims.” She added that the judicial branch cannot serve as a meaningful check on executive power “if we write ourselves out of relevance and leave the Executive Branch to check itself.”
Khalil is separately appealing a removal order before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana. His lawyers contend immigration authorities improperly accused him of misrepresenting information on his green card application in retaliation for his protest activities.
