Mahmoud Khalil’s lawyers appear in New Jersey court over jurisdiction of Columbia activist’s case

NEWARK, NJ (CNN) — A federal district court declined to say whether the US government’s case against Mahmoud Khalil, the prominent pro-Palestinian activist detained by immigration officers, should be heard in New Jersey.

Since his detention nearly a month ago, Department of Justice officials have sought to move Khalil’s case to Louisiana, where he is in custody at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility.

August Flentje, an attorney for the US Justice Department, told the court that an earlier decision by a New York judge to transfer the case to New Jersey “made no good sense.”

“Mr. Khalil was only here for a few hours,” Flentje said of his detention in New Jersey. “For jurisdictional certainty, the case belongs in Louisiana. That is our bottom line.”

Khalil’s attorneys challenged the argument, telling the court the government’s ongoing efforts to challenge its jurisdiction are part of their legal strategy to delay the case.

In arguments before US District Court Judge Michael Farbiarz, Khalil’s attorneys described his detention as “Kafkaesque,” saying it’s an attempt by the Trump administration to chill political speech across the country.

Khalil’s wife, Noor Abdalla, who is 8 months pregnant and due to deliver a son next month, sat in the front row of the gallery during the proceedings. She did not speak to reporters after the hearing.

Baher Azmy, one of Khalil’s attorneys, accused the government of having a “radical interpretation” of habeas corpus – a legal order that is used to challenge the legality of a person’s detention or imprisonment.

“The longer we wait, the more chill there is,” Azmy told the court. “The moving around only furthers the retaliation in this case. Everyone knows about this case and they are wondering if they’re going to be picked off the street next for opposing US foreign policy.”

Khalil’s attorneys have said he is being targeted for his political speech. The Trump administration has accused Khalil of participating in activities in support of Hamas.

“Fundamentally, this is a play for time; the government wants the media attention to die away,” Ramzi Kassem, an attorney who is also part of Khalil’s legal team, told CNN. “The fact that there are people taking to the streets by the thousands to protest what they are trying to do to Mr. Khalil and others, they want that to dissipate as well.”

Moving the case to Louisiana would cause hardship for Khalil’s attorneys and his family, his legal team has argued. Farbiarz, a Biden appointee, did not consider their motion to have Khalil released while his immigration case continues.

Khalil, a negotiator for pro-Palestinian student protesters in talks with Columbia’s administration over last spring’s contentious campus encampment against the Israel-Hamas war, was arrested March 8 and has been detained since then by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. US District Judge Jesse Furman, an Obama appointee, has blocked the government indefinitely from deporting Khalil and transferred the case from New York to nearby New Jersey.

The Trump administration initially said Khalil was a threat to US security, citing a law that allows noncitizens to be deported if their presence has “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”

The administration has also accused the Columbia University graduate of being a Hamas sympathizer without providing evidence. Trump officials claim Khalil’s deportation is justified because he did not reveal connections to two organizations in his application to become a permanent US resident – an argument his attorneys dismiss as weak.

Khalil failed to state on his green card application that he had previously worked for the Syria office of the British Embassy in Beirut and was a member of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, according to the government. UNRWA was a focus of intense criticism from American and Israeli politicians who accused it of antisemitism.

Khalil was an unpaid intern with UNRWA in 2023 but was never on staff, agency spokesperson Juliette Touma has told CNN.

Other foreign academics have also been identified for deportation this month as the administration squeezes colleges over pro-Palestinian demonstrations amid a broader immigration crackdown.

Dozens of Khalil supporters showed up at the New Jersey courtroom, necessitating an overflow room for those who wanted to watch the proceedings.

About 100 protestors were outside the courthouse where Khalil’s hearing took place, condemning the arrest and calling out ICE and the Trump administration.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.