Lawyers fight to stop deportation of detained Columbia student activist Mahmoud Khalil in court
NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- Detained Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil will remain in federal immigration custody a while longer after a federal judge in Newark said he would not consider whether to release him on bail until after he decides whether New Jersey is the right place to hear the case.
While protesters outside the court Friday morning chanted "free Mahmoud now," Judge Michael Fabiarz said he would first decide whether he has jurisdiction over the case or whether he should move it to Louisiana, where Khalil is currently detained.
Fabiarz said he would issue a written order following an hour and a quarter of oral arguments.
Khalil's attorneys said they were prepared to argue for his release, but Fabiarz said, "I'm not going to handle any motion until I decide this is the court with the power to decide it."
Hundreds of supporters, including members of the Orthodox Jewish community, came out to support what they say is an issue of free speech and the right to protest.
Meanwhile, Khalil's wife, who is about to give birth, was in court listening to the hearing in a packed room filled with media and lawyers as demonstrations continued outside.
Lawyers for the detained graduate student urged a federal judge to keep his habeas case in New Jersey to prevent the government from a "Kafka-esque" moving of Khalil from one detention facility to another. A federal judge in New York, where Khalil was arrested, moved the case to New Jersey, where Khalil was taken.
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Bahar Azmy, an attorney for Khalil, told the judge there is a "prohibition on forum shopping" to find a court that might be most sympathetic to the government's position. Outside court, Azmy said the government is simply trying to delay the adjudication of the actual legality of Khalil's detention.
"This is not any routine immigration case or habeus transfer case, this is a case where the United States government has created a policy targeting Palestinian activists, and specifically Mahmoud Khalil, for arrest, detention and potential removal because the United States government disagrees with his constitutionally-protected right to descent from U.S. foreign policy," Azmy said.
An attorney for the government, August Flentje, argued that "for jurisdictional certainty, the case belongs in Louisiana" because that is where Khalil is being held.
The jurisdictional question must be decided prior to a judge deciding the substantive question of whether the detention of Khalil, a green card holder, was lawful.
Khalil is due to appear before an immigration judge for a removal proceeding April 8.
The Columbia University graduate student was detained by federal immigration agents on March 8 as part of President Donald Trump's crackdown on what he calls antisemitic and "anti-American" campus protests. Khalil served as a spokesperson and negotiator last year for pro-Palestinian demonstrators who opposed Israel's military campaign in Gaza.
Khalil, who was born in Syria to a Palestinian family, has said in a statement that his detention reflects "anti-Palestinian racism" in the U.S.
Khalil is among a half-dozen international students who have supported Palestinians to be detained by the administration in recent weeks. No charges have been filed against any of them.
The administration has argued the students' continued presence in the country undermines American foreign policy and revoked their status. Attorneys for the students have argued the administration is punishing them for lawful activity.
ABC News contributed to this report.
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