A court hearing will take place in Manhattan federal court Wednesday morning challenging the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, one of the ringleaders of anti-Israel protests at Columbia University last year who the Trump administration is trying to deport.
ICE agents arrested Khalil — who is a Palestinian raised in Syria and a permanent U.S. resident — from his university-owned apartment on the city’s Upper West Side on Saturday and told him they were revoking his green card and student visa, according to Khalil’s attorney, Amy Greer.
He was then taken to a Louisiana detention center.
ICE AGENTS ARREST ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST WHO LED PROTESTS ON COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY FOR MONTHS
The Department of Homeland Security said that it conducted the arrest to protect U.S. national security, and claimed that Khalil “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.”
District Judge Jesse Furman from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York is slated to hear Khalil’s case at around 11:30 a.m. His attorneys have filed motions asserting that ICE violated Khalil’s constitutional rights and are also requesting his return to New York.
Furman has the power to order Khalil’s release, but it is unclear if he will do so. Furman has ordered that the 30-year-old not be deported while the court considers the legal challenge brought by his lawyers.
Khalil’s wife, an American citizen, is currently eight months pregnant, according to his lawyer.
“We will vigorously be pursuing Mahmoud’s rights in court, and will continue our efforts to right this terrible and inexcusable — and calculated — wrong committed against him,” Greer said.
Civil rights groups and Khalil’s attorneys say the government is unconstitutionally using its immigration-control powers to stop him from speaking out. His detention led to protests in Manhattan this week.
ANTISEMITIC RIOT AT COLUMBIA REACHES BOILING POINT AS AGITATORS TAKE OVER ACADEMIC BUILDING, BARRICADE DOORS
Khalil, who acted as a spokesperson for Columbia protesters, has not been charged with a crime, although the hearing could provide more information about the circumstances that led to the arrest and the government’s justification for keeping him detained.
His lawyers and civil rights groups argue the government is unlawfully retaliating against him for his speech and unconstitutionally using its immigration-control powers to stop him from speaking out. A joint filing for Khalil’s lawyers and the government ahead of Wednesday’s hearing said the government intends to argue that the Southern District of New York is not the proper venue for the case.
Khalil finished his requirements for a Columbia master’s degree in December. Born in Syria, he is a grandson of Palestinians who were forced to leave their homeland, his lawyers said in a legal filing.
Khalil played a major role in the protests against Israel which rocked Columbia University last year and he met with university officials on behalf of Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a group of student groups urging the university to divest from Israel, according to CNN.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the Trump administration’s decision to arrest Khalil and claimed that he distributed pro-Hamas propaganda fliers on campus.
“This administration is not going to tolerate individuals having the privilege of studying in our country and then siding with pro-terrorist organizations that have killed Americans,” Leavitt told reporters Tuesday at a White House press briefing, noting that on her desk were the “pro-Hamas propaganda fliers with the logo of Hamas” on them that Khalil allegedly was distributing. “We have a zero-tolerance policy for siding with terrorists period.”
The future of Khalil’s immigration status will be decided in a separate process, according to the New York Times. That matter will be presided over by an immigration judge, who could determine whether to revoke Khalil’s green card.
Meanwhile, ABC News reports that Khalil’s wife claims that her husband “begged” Columbia University for legal support in an email one day before his arrest but the university never responded.
“I haven’t been able to sleep, fearing that ICE or a dangerous individual might come to my home. I urgently need legal support and I urge you to intervene,” he reportedly said in his email.
She also claims she was threatened with arrest when she refused to leave her husband with agents during his apprehension, claiming that the couple was never shown a warrant, per the outlet.
Fox News’ Diana Stancy, Alexis McAdams and Stepheny Price, as well as The Associated Press contributed to this report.
