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Straits Times
34 minutes ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
US says it will keep detaining pro-Palestinian activist Khalil
FILE PHOTO: Mahmoud Khalil speaks to members of media about the Revolt for Rafah encampment at Columbia University during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, in New York City, U.S., June 1, 2024. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo US says it will keep detaining pro-Palestinian activist Khalil The U.S. government said on Friday pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil would remain in detention after a U.S. judge ruled foreign policy interests could not be used to justify confinement of the Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist. Khalil's lawyers had called for his immediate release, but U.S. attorneys said in a letter to the judge they would keep holding him on other charges such as immigration fraud that were not addressed in the Wednesday ruling. President Donald Trump has vowed to deport foreign students like Khalil in the pro-Palestinian protest movement, which Trump has called antisemitic. Civil rights groups say Khalil's arrest and detention are an attack on protected political speech. Lawyers for the Syrian-born activist were fighting for his release as Kilmar Abrego Garcia, another immigrant targeted by the Trump administration, pleaded not guilty to migrant smuggling charges after his wrongful deportation. Marc Van Der Hout, a lawyer for Khalil, said the government practically never detained people for immigration fraud and he was being punished for opposing Israel's U.S.-backed war in Gaza following Hamas' October 2023 attack. "Detaining someone on a charge like this is highly unusual and frankly outrageous," said Khalil's lawyer Marc Van Der Hout. "There continues to be no constitutional basis for his detention." Newark, New Jersey-based U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz on Wednesday ruled the administration was violating Khalil's right to free speech by trying to deport him under a little-used law granting the U.S. secretary of state power to seek deportation of non-citizens whose presence in the country was deemed adverse to U.S. foreign policy interests. The U.S. government has also said Khalil should be deported because he fraudulently withheld information from his application for a green card. Khalil's lawyers said allegations he misrepresented himself in his application are spurious. Farbiarz has written that lawful permanent residents are rarely detained on the basis of immigration fraud. Khalil, a prominent figure in pro-Palestinian protests against Israel's war on Gaza, was arrested by immigration agents in the lobby of his university residence in Manhattan on March 8. He has since been held in immigration detention in Louisiana. Khalil's U.S. citizen wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, gave birth to the couple's first child while Khalil was detained in April. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Pro-Palestinian activist Khalil's lawyers ask judge to order his release
FILE PHOTO: Mahmoud Khalil speaks to members of media about the Revolt for Rafah encampment at Columbia University during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, in New York City, U.S., June 1, 2024. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo Lawyers for Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil asked a judge on Friday to order that he be released from a Louisiana immigration detention center on Friday, after the judge ruled the Trump administration could not use U.S. foreign policy interests to justify his confinement. Newark, New Jersey-based U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz on Wednesday ruled that the administration could not use U.S. foreign policy to justify its detention of Khalil, a 30-year-old Palestinian who came to the U.S. lawfully on a student visa and later obtained lawful permanent residency. But the judge put his decision on hold until Friday at 9:30 a.m. EDT (1330 GMT) to give President Donald Trump's administration the chance to appeal. Trump, a Republican, has pledged to deport foreign students who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations that swept Columbia and other U.S. universities in the wake of Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel and Israel's subsequent military campaign in Gaza. That deadline passed without the government filing a notice of appeal. "This Court should order his release forthwith," Khalil's lawyers wrote in a letter to Farbiarz. Khalil, a prominent figure in pro-Palestinian protests against Israel's war on Gaza, was detained by immigration agents in the lobby of his university residence in Manhattan on March 8. He has since been held in immigration detention in Louisiana. The administration says it revoked Khalil's green card under a little-used provision of U.S. immigration law allowing the deportation of any non-citizen whose presence in the country is deemed by the U.S. secretary of state to be adverse to U.S. foreign policy interests. Khalil's lawyers said his arrest and attempted deportation violated his right to free speech under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. Farbiarz had previously blocked the administration from deporting Khalil while his challenge to the constitutionality of his arrest played out. On May 28, the judge ruled that the foreign policy provision cited by the Trump administration was so vague that it was likely unconstitutional, and on Wednesday he ruled that the administration could not use that provision to justify Khalil's detention. The U.S. government also has said Khalil should be deported because he withheld information from his application for a green card, which he has denied. Farbiarz wrote that lawful permanent residents are rarely detained on that basis. Khalil's U.S. citizen wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, gave birth to the couple's first child while Khalil was detained in April. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
US foreign policy no basis to detain Columbia protester Khalil, judge rules
Dr. Noor Abdalla, wife of Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder who remains in an ICE detention facility in Louisiana after being detained in early March for his involvement in the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, holds up a 'Release Mahmoud Khalil Now' protest sticker while posing for a portrait in New York City, U.S., May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Angelina Katsanis/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Mahmoud Khalil speaks to members of media about the Revolt for Rafah encampment at Columbia University during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, in New York City, U.S., June 1, 2024. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo NEW YORK - The Trump administration cannot use U.S. foreign policy interests to justify its detention of Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a judge ruled on Wednesday, but stopped short of ordering Khalil's immediate release. U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz in Newark, New Jersey, said his ruling would not take effect until Friday at 9:30 EDT (1330 GMT) to give the administration the chance to appeal. Farbiarz wrote that the administration was violating Khalil's right to free speech by detaining and trying to deport him under a little-used provision of U.S. immigration law granting the U.S. secretary of state the power to seek the deportation of any non-citizen whose presence in the country is deemed adverse to U.S. foreign policy interests. "The Petitioner's career and reputation are being damaged and his speech is being chilled," Farbiarz wrote. "This adds up to irreparable harm." The judge also barred the administration from deporting Khalil on the grounds that his presence was allegedly adverse to U.S. foreign policy. Neither the State Department nor the Justice Department, which represents the administration in court, immediately responded to requests for comment. Khalil's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Khalil was arrested on March 8 after the State Department revoked his green card. He has since been held in immigration detention in Louisiana. Khalil was the first known foreign student to be arrested as part of Republican President Donald Trump's bid to deport foreign students who took part in pro-Palestinian protests that swept U.S. college campuses after Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and Israel's subsequent military assault. The Hamas attack killed 1,195 people, according to Israeli tallies, and Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Judge says Trump cannot detain Columbia protester Khalil, but delays release order
Dr. Noor Abdalla, wife of Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder who remains in an ICE detention facility in Louisiana after being detained in early March for his involvement in the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, holds up a 'Release Mahmoud Khalil Now' protest sticker while posing for a portrait in New York City, U.S., May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Angelina Katsanis/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Mahmoud Khalil speaks to members of media about the Revolt for Rafah encampment at Columbia University during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, in New York City, U.S., June 1, 2024. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo NEW YORK - A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that the Trump administration cannot use U.S. foreign policy interests to justify its detention of Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, but said his order would not take effect until Friday. Khalil was arrested on March 8 after the State Department revoked his green card under a little-used provision of U.S. immigration law granting the U.S. secretary of state the power to seek the deportation of any noncitizen whose presence in the country is deemed adverse to U.S. foreign policy interests. He has since been held in immigration detention in Louisiana. Khalil was the first known foreign student to be arrested as part of Trump's bid to deport foreign students who took part in pro-Palestinian protests that swept U.S. college campuses after Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and Israel's subsequent military assault. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Jailed Columbia student Khalil meets newborn son for first time
FILE PHOTO: Muslim protestors pray outside the main campus of Columbia University during a demonstration to denounce the immigration arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist who helped lead protests against Israel at the university, in New York City, U.S., March 14, 2025. REUTERS/David Dee Delgado/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Mahmoud Khalil speaks to members of media about the Revolt for Rafah encampment at Columbia University during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, in New York City, U.S., June 1, 2024. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo JENA, Louisiana - Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist arrested by U.S. immigration agents in March, met his month-old son for the first time on Thursday before an immigration hearing, his attorneys said. After the daylong hearing, Judge Jamee Comans of the LaSalle Immigration Court in Jena, Louisiana, did not decide whether the U.S. government can proceed with deporting Khalil. She was to rule at a later date. Before the proceedings began Khalil met with his wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, and their baby Deen inside the Jena facility, an encounter made possible by a judge's ruling on Wednesday that Khalil must be allowed to meet with his wife. "Mahmoud was able to see his baby and hold his baby and talk to his wife and hold his wife this morning," Amy Greer, one of his attorneys, told reporters after the hearing, adding that lawyers allowed the family privacy and were unable to relay details of the encounter. Khalil, a leader in the Columbia University student movement that has criticized Israel's military campaign in Gaza, has become a central figure in the U.S. debate over the war and Trump administration tactics to use its jailing and deportation powers against political opponents. The Trump administration has said his presence could harm U.S. foreign policy interests. Khalil says he is the victim of U.S. repression of free speech. His son was born after Khalil was arrested on March 8 as the State Department revoked his green card under a little-used provision of U.S. immigration law granting the U.S. secretary of state the power to seek the deportation of any non-citizen whose presence in the country is deemed adverse to U.S. foreign policy interests. Khalil, 30, a Palestinian who was born and raised in a refugee camp in Syria, entered the U.S. on a student visa in 2022 and became a lawful permanent resident last year through his wife, a U.S. citizen. In separate proceedings, a federal judge has blocked Khalil's removal while considering the student's claim his arrest was unconstitutional. That order will stand whether Comans rules in favor of deporting him until the broader questions are settled. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
