A federal judge is scheduled for a court hearing on Monday for Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia graduate who was arrested by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), banning the government from moving forward with deportation efforts before that.
Lawyers for Halil, a legal immigrant arrested by President Trump and a leading pro-Palestinian demonstrator, also filed a motion seeking his return to New York.
Halil's lawyer, Amy Greer, said in a statement to the hill that it was not immediately clear where Ice took Halil. His team originally thought of New Jersey, but he reports. Includes The New York Timesshowing that he was taken to Louisiana.
Trump and his administration celebrated Khalil's detention on Monday, saying more foreign students will be arrested than they were involved in the Palestinian protests.
“Ice proudly arrested and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a radical foreign pro-Hamas student on Columbia University's campus. This is the first arrest of many people going forward. Columbia and other universities have more students at other universities engaged in counterterrorism, anti-Semitism and anti-American activities, and the Trump administration will not tolerate it,” the president said on social media.
Halil has a green card so only an immigration judge could revoke his position.
Thousands of people have signed petitions for his release, and First Amendment advocates suspect his detention is unconstitutional, but little is known about why Halil was targeted other than his involvement in the Colombian protests.
Khalil is reportedly married to an 8-month pregnant US citizen.
