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.
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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.
Khalil’s lawyers said the administration was attempting to silence him and had violated his free speech rights. In a statement to the court last week, Khalil said the Trump administration had not only separated him from his wife and new child, but also harmed his financial and professional future. Because of his detention, he said, a job offer was rescinded for a policy adviser role at the independent nongovernmental organization, Oxfam International.
“I strongly believe that the Rubio Determination, my arrest and detention — and the public stigma that followed — played a significant role in this decision,” Khalil wrote of the lost job opportunity. “I was not surprised; roles like this depend on your reputation. How could someone who has been labeled a risk to U.S. foreign policy credibly represent an international organization in diplomatic spaces — let alone serve as an advisor on human rights and regional policy in the Middle East and North Africa? Beyond credibility, how could I effectively perform the essential duties of a position like this — which requires traveling internationally — where visa denial or intense scrutiny would be nearly inevitable?”
Khalil was born in Syria to Palestinian parents. He grew up in a refugee camp in Syria. Khalil came to the United States in 2022 to pursue his master’s at Columbia. He had previously obtained a degree in computer science from Lebanese American University.
In their filing to the court on Friday, Trump administration lawyers wrote that while the court made a “factual finding” (emphasis original) that it was unlikely Khalil would be detained on another basis, the court “never held that it would be unlawful for respondents to detain Khalil on another charge of removability.” (emphasis original)
“An alien like Khalil may be detained during the pendency of removal proceedings regardless of the charge of removability. Khalil may seek release through the appropriate administrative processes, first before an officer of the Department of Homeland Security, and secondly through a custody redetermination hearing before an immigration judge,” the filing states.
Khalil must also be able to prove that his release would not pose a danger to anyone or any property.
An attorney for Khalil did not immediately return a HuffPost request for comment.