Court gives Mahmoud Khalil more time to fight efforts to deport him
A federal appeals court is giving former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil more time to fight the Trump administration’s efforts to deport him.
Khalil, a Syrian-born anti-Israel activist, was detained by immigration authorities last year over his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia in spring 2024. The government argued his presence in the U.S. was harmful to foreign policy interests.
He spent months in detention before a federal judge in New Jersey ordered his release, saying the government had acted unconstitutionally. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later ruled that the New Jersey judge lacked authority to intervene and said the case should first move through immigration courts.
On Tuesday, however, the same appeals court paused its ruling while Khalil appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court, effectively delaying further action. The court gave no explanation, but said that if no timely petition is filed, parties must notify it in writing.
Brett Max Kaufman, senior counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents Khalil, said they are grateful for the decision and plan to ask the Supreme Court to clarify that the government cannot use detention and deportation threats to silence dissent. An appeal is expected in the coming months, possibly by late summer.
Khalil has continued pursuing his case in immigration court without success so far, and a separate appeal is pending before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana. The stay gives him added protection against re-arrest or deportation while those appeals proceed.
