Government says it won't release Mahmoud Khalil despite judge's order
The Trump administration does not plan on releasing pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil despite a federal judge's ruling this week that he cannot be deported or detained based on a determination from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that he is a threat to national security.
In a letter filed on Friday afternoon, officials from the Department of Justice argued that while Khalil can't be detained based on Rubio's determination, according to the judge's ruling, he can be detained for other reasons. The officials cited immigration-related statutes.
'The Court instead enjoined Respondents from detaining Khalil 'based on the Secretary of State's determination,'' DOJ officials said in the letter. 'That injunction does not interfere with Respondents' authority to detain Khalil on other grounds.'
To justify Khalil's removal, Rubio released a memo in April, citing an obscure provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. It allows the secretary of state to deport noncitizens if the secretary determines their presence in the country would result in 'potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.' Rubio wrote in the memo that allowing Khalil, who led protests against the war on Gaza, to stay in the U.S. would create a 'hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States.'
But the judge, Michael Farbiarz of the U.S. District Court for New Jersey, ruled that the foreign policy grounds for Khalil's detention are insufficient and likely unconstitutional.
Khalil, who grew up in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria and and was granted permanent U.S. resident status, became a widely recognized activist amid the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University last year. In March, he was abruptly arrested outside his student housing on campus and detained before the Trump administration accused him of leading 'activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.' Since, his legal counsel has been challenging efforts to deport him. He has not been charged with any crime.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security has alleged that Khalil has acted to 'glorify and support terrorists.'
In a declaration filed last week, Khalil called the claims 'grotesque and false.'
'These were not just attacks on my character; they were efforts to erase my humanity,' Khalil said in the legal filing.
Amid his three months in detention, Khalil also became a father and fought for contact with his newborn son Deen. Khalil's wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, a Michigan-born dentist, gave birth in April. ICE previously rejected Khalil's request to attend his son's birth, court documents show.
'The most immediate and visceral harms I have experienced directly relate to the birth of my son, Deen,' Khalil said in the legal filing. 'Instead of holding my wife's hand in the delivery room, I was crouched on a detention center floor, whispering through a crackling phone line as she labored alone.'
ICE also denied a request last week for Khalil to be moved from Louisiana to a facility closer to his family, with no explanation, emails show. The agency's own policy requires detaining noncitizen parents or legal guardians, who are primary caretakers or have custody of minor children, in facilities close to their children.
'ICE's directive recognizes that the government should have no role in destroying the family unit, and yet that is exactly what is happening here,' said Nora Ahmed, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, which is part of Khalil's legal team.
Khalil met his son for the first time last month, his attorneys said, just before an immigration hearing.
Khalil has drawn widespread support from pro-Palestinian activists nd free speech advocates, with his arrest and detention prompting protests across the country. Most recently, several celebrities who are also fathers, including comedian Mo Amer, actors Mark Ruffalo and Mahershalla Ali and 'Rage Against The Machine' frontman Tom Morello, came together to read a letter that Khalil wrote to his son ahead of Father's Day on Sunday.
'I am a Palestinian refugee, asylee to America, became a citizen in 2009, and in 2023 I had a son,' Amer said. 'Mahmoud's letter is like a dagger to the heart, and that's why I am doing this.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
2 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Mahmoud Khalil to stay in detention under Trump DOJ argument: judge
On June 11, Farbiarz initially ruled Khalil couldn't be detained by Secretary of State Marco Rubio's determination that he threatened American foreign policy interests. But Farbiarz left open other options for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold Khalil. Ahead of a court-ordered deadline to respond on June 13, Justice Department lawyers argued Khalil could be held for misrepresenting information on his permanent residency application, under a federal immigration statute lawyers have presented to the court. "Khalil is now detained based on that other charge of removability," Justice Department lawyers wrote in a June 13 letter submitted to court. "Detaining Khalil based on that other ground of removal is lawful." They said Khalil now has options to seek his release with the charge pending. Farbiarz sided with that assessment and said the secondary charge hasn't been blocked by the court. He said, "a number of avenues are now available to" Khalil, "including a bail application to the immigration judge presiding over the immigration case." Khalil's lawyer, Amy Greer, said that the government was using "cruel, transparent delay tactics" to keep him away from his wife and newborn son on their first Father's Day, on June 15. "Instead of celebrating together, he is languishing in ICE detention as punishment for his advocacy on behalf of his fellow Palestinians," Greer said in a statement. The Justice Department had no comment beyond the filings, an agency spokesperson said in an email. The government had until June 13 to appeal the judge's initial ruling. Justice Department lawyers pushed Khalil to follow the administrative actions instead of filing in federal court. "These administrative processes are the proper avenues for Khalil to seek release, not having a federal district court hold that the government cannot detain Khalil on a charge that the Court never found to be unlawful," the government lawyers said in the letter. In his original June 11 ruling, Farbiarz Khalil's request to temporarily block federal officials from deporting him under Rubio's determination. On June 13, he extended the government's time to respond to appeal his decision. Justice Department lawyers instead brought up the second argument. Khalil's legal team sent a letter to Farbiarz the morning of June 13, requesting that the client be freed since the appeal from the government did not meet the morning deadline. Khalil has been held in an immigration detention center in Louisiana since March. His lawyers have fought for his release to be with his wife and newborn son, Deen. However, a June 12 email sent to Khalil's lawyers by Brian Acuna, director of the New Orleans ICE Field Office, stated that he had "no information [that] your client will be released or a time for that," court records showed. His lawyers instead needed to contact ICE's Office of Chief Counsel on that matter, the email said. Immigration agents arrested Khalil, a green card holder married to an American citizen, on March 8 in the lobby of his university-owned apartment building in Manhattan. A Palestinian born in Syria, Khalil was a spokesman and negotiator for pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia. Khalil was not accused of any crime. Noncitizens can be deported if the Secretary of State finds that their presence threatens U.S. foreign policy interests, even if their beliefs, statements or associations are "otherwise lawful," the Trump administration argued. They cited a rarely used provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 as the basis. Farbiarz ruled against the Secretary of State's determination and said the secondary argument -- that he omitted information on his application to enter the country -- "almost surely flows" from Rubio's determination. On June 13, Farbiarz said Khalil hadn't given factual evidence as to why it could be unlawful to detain him on the secondary charge.
The Herald Scotland
2 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
ICE and deportations split country after LA raids, protests
Nearly all Republicans and 83% of Democrats said in the poll taken June 6-9 that violent offenders should be deported. The gap grows much wider, though, when the 1,533 U.S. citizens were asked about five other situations of people in America illegally. The most pronounced split - 57 percentage points - was over whether people who committed nonviolent crimes should be deported. Overall, Americans were almost evenly divided. Nearly one-third of Republicans believe anyone in the United States illegally should be deported regardless of circumstances, a view shared by only a small fraction of Democrats. Which people in the U.S. illegally should be deported? Unable to view our graphics? Click here to see them. Americans divided on opinions of ICE When it comes to the agency responsible for enforcing U.S. immigration laws, public opinion is nearly evenly split. According to the poll, 45% of respondents view U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) very or somewhat favorably - just 2 percentage points higher than those who hold a very or somewhat unfavorable view. Do you support or oppose abolishing ICE? The poll breaks down the opinions by political ideology on whether to abolish ICE. About 7 of every 10 Republicans wouldn't abolish ICE, while about half of Democrats would. Should ICE agents be required to wear uniforms? About two-thirds of Americans believe ICE agents should be required to wear their uniforms, but, again, opinions swing significantly based on political affiliations. Nine in 10 Democrats say ICE officers should always be uniformed, while about half of Republicans do. How well should ICE agents be identified? The Economist/YouGov poll was conducted among 1,533 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov's opt-in panel to be representative of U.S. adult citizens. A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected from the 2019 American Community Survey. The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 3.5%.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Trump makes major U-turn on mass deportation policy that could affect thousands of businesses across country
The Trump administration has for the first time pumped the brakes on its mass deportation agenda, telling ICE officials to pause raids on farms, hotels and restaurants, according to an internal email and three US officials familiar with the situation. The decision, as reported by The New York Times, comes after Trump made a rare acknowledgement that some of the deportations he's ordered has hurt industries in agricultural, hospitality and food sectors. 'Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,' he said in a Truth Social post on Thursday morning. 'We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!' he added. He further elaborated on these sentiments in a press conference later that same day. 'Our farmers are being hurt badly by, you know, they have very good workers, they have worked for them for 20 years,' he said. 'They're not citizens, but they've turned out to be, you know, great. And we're going to have to do something about that. We can't take farmers and take all their people and send them back because they don't have maybe what they're supposed to have, maybe not,' he continued, adding that there would be an 'order' soon. The official order from Trump came on Thursday via an email sent by a senior ICE official, Tatum King, to regional leaders of the ICE department that generally carries out criminal investigations. This post on Truth Social is what got the ball rolling on the switch-up in strategy These investigations often lead to worksite raids, which have been happening in increasing frequency all over the country. These raids have led to nationwide anti-ICE protests, most notably in Los Angeles, where demonstrations have been going on for a week straight. 'Effective today, please hold on all work site enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants and operating hotels,' King wrote in his message. King clarified that investigations 'human trafficking, money laundering, drug smuggling into these industries are OK.' The order instructed agents not to arrest 'noncriminal collaterals,' a seeming reference to illegal immigrants who have not committed any additional crimes. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the new guidance and said it would follow it. 'We will follow the president's direction and continue to work to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off of America's streets,' Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokeswoman, said in a statement. This marks a huge departure in Trump's rhetoric, since over the last few months, he's advocated for deporting all illegal immigrants, regardless of their criminal record. Trump posted about his change of mind after Brooke Rollins, the secretary of agriculture, told him that farmers were concerned that ICE enforcement would negatively impact their businesses, a White House official and a person familiar told The Times. There are still officials within the administration who are more aligned with the idea of deporting as many migrants as possible. Chief among them is White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who has been advocating for a minimum of 3,000 arrests a day by ICE. ICE confirmed that Miller held a meeting with dozens of top directors and officials on May 20, where he reportedly 'came in there and eviscerated everyone.' According to the Washington Examiner, Miller allegedly told them: 'You guys aren't doing a good job. You're horrible leaders.' He then reportedly gave them an open challenge and asked: 'Why aren't you at Home Depot? Why aren't you at 7-Eleven?' ICE agents were reportedly surprised by the new guidance to limit raids on certain industries after weeks and months of being told to step it up. King said in his memo that the new rules would hamstring the administration's goals for higher numbers of arrests. 'We acknowledge that by taking this off the table, that we are eliminating a significant # of potential targets,' he wrote.
