The court hearing will take place in Manhattan Federal Court on Wednesday morning and challenge the detention of one of the ringleaders of Mahmoud Khalil. Anti-Israel protest Last year, at Columbia University, where the Trump administration is about to deport the country.
Ice Agent arrested Khalil, a Palestinian who grew up in Syria from his university-owned apartment on the city's Upper West Side on Saturday, telling him he was revoking his green card and student visa, according to Halil's lawyer, Amy Greer.
He was then taken to the Louisiana Detention Center.
A court hearing took place in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday morning, challenging the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, one of the anti-Israeli protesters at Columbia University, which the Trump administration is trying to deport the country last year. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, left, Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service Getty Images, right.)
Ice Agent arrests anti-Israel activists who led protests for months at Columbia University
The Department of Homeland Security said it had carried out arrests to protect US national security, claiming that Halil “led activities along Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.”
District Judge Jesse Furman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York is scheduled to hear about Halil's case around 11:30 a.m.
Furman has the power to order Halil's releases, but it's unclear if he will. Furman ordered the 30-year-old not to be deported while the court considered the legal challenges posed by his lawyers.
His lawyer said Halil's wife, an American citizen, is currently pregnant for eight months.
“We will vehemently pursue Mahmoud's rights in court and continue this horrifying, unforgivable and calculated effort against him,” Greer said.
Attorneys for civil rights groups and Halil say the government is using its immigration control powers unconstitutional to stop him from speaking out. His detention led to protests in Manhattan this week.
Colombian anti-Semitist riots reach boiling point as agitators take over academic buildings, barricaded doors
Although Halil, who served as a spokesman for Colombian protesters, has not been charged with a crime, the hearing can provide more information on the circumstances that led to his arrest and the justification for continuing to detain him.
His lawyers and civil rights groups allege that the government has illegally retaliated against him for his speech and is using its immigration control powers unconstitutional and to stop him from speaking out. A joint declaration to the government with Halil's lawyers ahead of Wednesday's hearing said the government intends to argue that the Southern District of New York is not the right place for the case.
Khalil completed the requirements for a Masters of Columbia degree in December. Born in Syria, he is the grandson of a Palestinian who was forced to leave his hometown, his lawyer said in a legal application.
According to CNN, Halil rocked Columbia University last year, meeting with university officials on behalf of Columbia University's apartheid dibust and meeting with university officials on behalf of Columbia University's apartheid dibust.
A rally of rebels against those condemning the arrest of former Columbian graduate student Mahmoud Khalil in New York on March 10, 2025. (Fox News Digital's Stephanie Keith)
White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt defended the Trump administration's decision to arrest Halil, claiming he distributed pro-Hamas propaganda flyers on campus.
“This administration is not going to tolerate any individual who has the privilege of studying in our country and staying with the pro-terrorist organization that killed Americans,” Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday at a White House press conference. “We have a zero-tolerance policy for siding in the age of terrorists.”
According to the New York Times, the future of Halil's immigration status will be determined by a different process. The issue will be governed by an immigration judge who can determine whether to cancel Halil's green card.
Protesters oppose the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbian graduate student in New York, on March 10, 2025. Mahmoud Khalil was one of the leading student organizers for the student camp at Columbia University last year. (Fox News Digital's Stephanie Keith)
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Meanwhile, ABC News reports that Halil's wife claims she “seeks” Columbia University in an email one day before her husband's arrest, but the university never responded.
“I couldn't sleep because I was afraid that ice or dangerous individuals would come to my home. I need urgent legal assistance and I recommend intervening,” he said in an email.
She also claims that she was threatened with arrest when she refused to leave her husband with the agent during his anxiety, and that the couple never showed a warrant according to the outlet.
Diana Stancy, Alexis McAdams, Stepheny Price and the Associated Press of Fox News contributed to this report.
