Judge Keeps Columbia Protester Deportation Case in NJ \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Columbia University protester Mahmoud Khalil’s deportation case will remain in New Jersey, rejecting the Trump administration’s attempt to transfer the case to Louisiana. The decision ensures Khalil’s legal team can continue to challenge his detention in the state where he was first held.
Columbia Protester’s Deportation Case: Quick Looks
- Judge rules Mahmoud Khalil’s case stays in New Jersey
- Trump administration sought to transfer case to Louisiana
- Khalil was arrested after anti-Israel protests at Columbia
- Judge said Khalil’s initial NJ detention establishes jurisdiction
- Habeas petition filed after his move from NJ to Louisiana
- Khalil’s wife, pregnant and due soon, praised the decision
- Legal team says transfer was a move to limit access
- Judge called DOJ’s jurisdiction argument “unpersuasive”
- Louisiana court could have sent case to conservative appeals panel
- Case continues as symbol of crackdown on student protesters
Deep Look
In a closely watched legal development with implications for immigration rights, campus protests, and the expanding scope of executive enforcement powers, a federal judge in New Jersey ruled Tuesday that the deportation case of Mahmoud Khalil—a Columbia University student and legal U.S. resident—will remain in New Jersey, where it was initially filed.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz rebuffs a push by the Trump administration to move the case to Louisiana, where Khalil is currently detained, and preserves Khalil’s legal challenge in a more moderate federal jurisdiction. It is a critical procedural victory for Khalil and his attorneys, though it does not yet secure his release.
Khalil was arrested on March 8 by federal immigration agents in the lobby of his university housing, making him the first student detained under President Donald Trump’s renewed crackdown on student protesters involved in campus demonstrations against Israel’s war in Gaza.
Just hours after his arrest, Khalil was transferred out of state, eventually ending up at an ICE detention facility in Jena, Louisiana—a remote facility hundreds of miles from his pregnant wife and two young children in New Jersey.
The Jurisdiction Battle: New Jersey vs. Louisiana
At the heart of the dispute was a jurisdictional technicality: where Khalil was being held at the exact time his lawyers filed their habeas corpus petition, which sought his immediate release on constitutional grounds. According to court filings, the petition was filed at 4:40 a.m., after Khalil had already been moved from New York to a detention facility in New Jersey, but before he was flown to Louisiana later that morning.
The Justice Department, represented by attorney August Flentje, argued that the case should be heard in Louisiana for the sake of “jurisdictional certainty.” But Judge Farbiarz rejected this claim in a strongly worded ruling, stating:
“The Court’s jurisdiction is not defeated by the Petitioner having been moved to Louisiana.”
Farbiarz labeled the government’s position “unpersuasive”, emphasizing that jurisdiction was valid at the moment of filing, and that New Jersey was the place of Khalil’s detention at that time.
Legal experts noted that had the case been transferred to Louisiana, it might have been eventually heard by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, one of the most conservative federal courts in the country, which could have set a broad precedent in favor of the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation agenda targeting student activists.
Khalil’s Legal Team and Family Respond
Khalil’s legal team, led by Baher Azmy, welcomed the ruling as a “step toward accountability” and a warning against what they describe as “forum shopping”—the practice of manipulating a detainee’s location to obtain a more favorable legal venue.
“They keep passing around the body in an almost Kafkaesque way,” Azmy said during a recent hearing in New Jersey, arguing that Khalil’s transfers were designed to isolate him from his family and legal counsel.
Khalil’s wife, Noor Abdalla, an American citizen who is eight months pregnant, called the ruling an “important step toward securing Mahmoud’s freedom.”
“As the countdown to our son’s birth begins,” she said, “I will continue to strongly advocate for Mahmoud’s freedom and for his safe return home.”
Symbolism and Broader Stakes
Khalil’s case has taken on national significance as part of the Trump administration’s broader crackdown on pro-Palestinian student activism, which Trump has framed as a threat to public order and U.S. national interests. The administration has vowed to target noncitizen students who participate in protests deemed anti-American or disruptive.
Critics view this policy as a politically motivated abuse of immigration enforcement powers, aimed at stifling dissent on college campuses.
Civil liberties organizations, including the ACLU, have warned that cases like Khalil’s could become a blueprint for silencing political speech through deportation, especially when courts allow jurisdiction to be shifted to conservative strongholds.
The judge’s decision to keep the case in New Jersey, therefore, is not just a win for Khalil but a signal to federal authorities that such jurisdictional maneuvering will face legal scrutiny.
What’s Next
While the ruling keeps the case in New Jersey, Khalil remains in detention in Louisiana. His attorneys will now move forward with arguments for his release on constitutional grounds, likely focusing on the alleged violation of his due process rights and the politically motivated nature of his arrest.
The outcome could have national ramifications as the Trump administration continues to make examples of noncitizen student protesters, particularly those speaking out against U.S. allies like Israel. For now, Khalil’s legal battle continues—but in a court that may offer a more balanced view of justice.
Judge Keeps Columbia
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