Mahmoud Khalil to remain detained in Louisiana after high-stakes hearing on arrest
New York, New York - Columbia University Palestine activist and US green card holder Mahmoud Khalil will remain detained in Louisiana for now as a high-stakes court case challenging his detention plays out.
US District Judge Jesse Furman declined to issue a decision on an emergency petition seeking Khalil's return to the New York City area.
Furman – who previously ruled that Khalil could not be deported "unless and until the Court orders otherwise" – said the detained activist's lawyers would be granted private phone calls with him at least twice.
After his arrest by immigration agents last Saturday, Khalil – a permanent US resident – was initially sent to New Jersey detention center before being transferred to a facility in Louisiana. His attorneys have been unable to have privileged communications with him since, they told the court Wednesday.
"We have literally not been able to confer with our client once since he was taken off the streets," Khalil's attorney Ramzi Kassem said.
The Department of Homeland Security sought to justify Khalil's arrest citing a provision in the Immigration and Nationality Act which reads: "An alien whose presence or activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States is deportable."
"This is not only an escalation on the assault free speech for Palestinian rights advocates but a step toward a police state for all. Trump Administration officials are not even attempting to connect Mahmoud to any unlawful activity," Center for Constitutional Rights Legal Director Baher Azmy said in a statement Wednesday.
"They are exploiting a vague and overbroad provision of US immigration to punish constitutionally protected speech."
Columbia international students warned of "dangerous times"
Supporters rallied outside the courthouse and on campuses across the country Wednesday to show their support for Khalil, who was a leading figure in the Palestine solidarity movement at Columbia.
The Trump administration has taken extraordinary actions to silence protesters at the university, including cutting $400 million in federal grants while threatening the student visas of Palestine liberation activists.
Amid the heightened repression, Columbia administrators gathered students and faculty of the journalism school to issue a serious warning, the New York Times reported.
International students were urged to avoid publishing work on Gaza, Ukraine, and protests related to Khalil's arrest.
"If you have a social media page, make sure it is not filled with commentary on the Middle East," professor and lawyer Stuart Karle reportedly told the gathering.
"Nobody can protect you," cautioned Jelani Cobb, dean of the journalism school. "These are dangerous times."
Cover photo: TAG24/Kelly Christ