Columbia Activist’s Case Must Move to New Jersey, Judge Says (1)

The court case of a Palestinian activist who led anti-Israel protests at Columbia University must be transferred to New Jersey while he remains in Louisiana, a federal judge ruled Wednesday in a blow to the government.

US District Judge Jesse Furman ruled that Mahmoud Khalil was detained in New Jersey when his lawyers first challenged his March 8 arrest near the Columbia campus. Furman said it will be up to a judge in New Jersey to decide whether Khalil himself should be released or moved to New York or New Jersey.

Khalil’s case has emerged as a symbol of the Trump administration’s crackdown on campus protests over Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza. Lawyers for Khalil say his detention violates his constitutional rights to free speech and due process. President Donald Trump says Columbia must deal more forcefully with antisemitism on campus, and he’s cut off $400 million in federal funding.

“The District of New Jersey is the one and only district in which Khalil could have filed his petition when he did,” Furman, who sits in New York where the case was filed, said in a 33-page opinion.

The Justice Department had sought to dismiss the case or transfer it to Louisiana, where Khalil is in custody. An email to a government spokesman wasn’t immediately returned.

Noor Abdalla, the wife of Khalil, called the ruling a “first step.” His lawyers said they will continue to fight for his release.

“His unlawful and unjust detention cannot stand,” Abdalla said in a statement. “We will not stop fighting until he is home with me.”

Khalil, a legal permanent resident, was arrested in New York. Hours later, on March 9 at 4:44 a.m., his lawyers filed a petition in New York federal court challenging the detention, but he’d already been moved to New Jersey before he was ultimately transferred to Louisiana.

The Khalil arrest was one of several actions targeting protesters, and Trump has promised more.

Federal agents also arrested Leqaa Kordia, who participated in anti-Israel protests at Columbia, for overstaying her visa, according to the Department of Homeland Security. DHS also revoked the visa of Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen and Columbia graduate student, who chose to “self-deport,” it said.

Read more: Trump Uses Rare Provision in Bid to Deport Student Activist

Columbia was the site of prolonged student protests after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage. The US labels Hamas a terrorist organization. Israel’s retaliation against Gaza and Hamas has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Last week, Columbia received a letter from the government about “critical next steps” it must take to restore its funding, including banning masks and overhauling admissions policies. Federal agents searched two university residences last week.

In several filings over the weekend, Khalil’s lawyers asked for his release while he fights his deportation. His wife, a US citizen, is in her eighth month of a difficult pregnancy.

“The President and Secretary of State have posted images of Mr. Khalil online, celebrating his detention,” they wrote. “Now, Mr. Khalil sits in a remote private prison, notorious for poor health care, unable to communicate effectively with counsel without a court order, unable to see his pregnant wife or attend medical appointments with her, and unable to speak freely to the outside world.”

(Updates with comment from Khalil’s wife starting in sixth paragraph)

To contact the reporter on this story:
David Voreacos in New York at dvoreacos@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou at megkolfopoul@bloomberg.net

Anthony Aarons, Peter Jeffrey

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