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Federal Judge Rules in Favor of Khalil’s Case Jurisdiction
A federal judge has decided that the legal proceedings regarding Mahmoud Khalil’s deportation will remain in New Jersey, dismissing the Trump administration’s attempt to move the case to Louisiana.
In a ruling issued on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz from Newark emphasized that New Jersey maintains jurisdiction over the case since Khalil was detained there when his lawyers filed a Habeas Corpus petition.
“The Court’s jurisdiction is not defeated by the Petitioner having been moved to Louisiana,” Judge Farbiarz stated, critiquing the government’s argument as “unpersuasive.”
This decision does not automatically mean that Khalil will remain in his current facility in Louisiana, where he is being held as authorities pursue his deportation linked to his involvement in protests at Columbia University against Israel. However, it permits his legal team to present their case for his release before a judge in New Jersey.
If the proceedings had been shifted to Louisiana, it might have culminated at one of the country’s most conservative appeals courts. This could have resulted in a significant ruling affecting both Khalil’s situation and the administration’s wider initiatives to expel noncitizen student activists.
“I am relieved at the court’s decision today to keep my husband’s ongoing case in New Jersey. This is an important step towards securing Mahmoud’s freedom, but there is still a lot more to be done,” remarked Dr. Noor Abdalla, Khalil’s wife. “What happened to Mahmoud represents a violation of his rights as a lawful permanent resident. ICE agents removed him from our home and transported him across state lines to Louisiana, which violates his rights and holds him as a political prisoner.”
Abdalla further asserted that Khalil is being “illegally held.”
Khalil, a legal resident of the U.S., was apprehended by federal immigration agents on March 8 while at his university-owned apartment. This incident marked the inaugural arrest under President Donald Trump’s anticipated crackdown on student activists participating in protests regarding the Gaza conflict.
Following his arrest, Khalil was quickly transported to an immigration detention center in Jena, Louisiana, distancing him from his legal representation and his wife, who is a U.S. citizen and approaching her due date this month.
His attorneys condemned the government’s maneuvers as a “radical reinterpretation” of current laws aimed at relocating the case to a more sympathetic jurisdiction while obstructing Khalil’s access to his lawyers and family.
“They keep passing around the body in an almost Kafkaesque way,” stated defense attorney Baher Azmy during a court hearing in New Jersey.
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