The Trump administration told a federal judge on Friday that it doesn’t intend to release Mahmoud Khalil, a legal U.S. resident and Columbia University graduate who was hauled off to a detention center by the Trump administration after protesting Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Khalil must be released from a detention center in Jena, Louisiana. But on Friday, lawyers for the Trump administration said they didn’t have to do so on the basis of that judge’s ruling.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CBS’s “Face the Nation” in March that the decision to deport Khalil, despite his holding a green card, was for the sake of national security and protecting America’s foreign policy interests. Rubio used a rarely invoked statute to pursue the expulsion.
But now, the administration says the judge’s decision didn’t factor in other reasons to detain Khalil, including his alleged inadmissibility to the country as an “alien” at time of entry.
Khalil, who studied international affairs, was never accused of or charged with any crimes. He was detained by immigration agents in New York on March 8 while walking through the lobby of his university-owned apartment building. The push to deport Khalil from the U.S. was based on his involvement as a student negotiator and spokesperson for pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University. The Trump administration has labeled these demonstrations as antisemitic and has accused Khalil of being a radical terrorist.
