Judge Halts Attempt to Deport Pro-Hamas Activist Mahmoud Khalil, but Is That Even the Whole Story?

Over the weekend, as Guy touched upon earlier, Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and is at risk of being deported. A pro-Hamas activist, Khalil was involved with out of control protests at Columbia University. Takeovers have also taken place at Columbia's sister school of Barnard College, which Khalil was seen participating in. Despite having already graduated, he had the privilege of living in university-owned housing. On Monday, a judge halted his deportation, though there may be more to this story than one simple ruling.

Judge Jesse M. Furman of the Southern District of New York, who was appointed by President Barack Obama issued a ruling to halt the deportation of Khalil, who is originally from Syria.

As The Hill reported:

A federal judge on Monday scheduled a Wednesday court hearing for Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia University graduate who was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), forbidding the government from moving forward with deportation efforts before then.
Lawyers for Khalil, a green card holder and leading pro-Palestinian demonstrator whose arrest was cheered by President Trump, have also filed a motion seeking his return to New York.
“To preserve the Court’s jurisdiction pending a ruling on the petition, Petitioner shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court orders otherwise,” U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman, an appointee of former President Obama, said in his order.
Khalil’s attorney, Amy Greer, said in a statement to The Hill that it hadn’t been immediately clear where ICE took Khalil. His team had originally thought he was New Jersey, but reports, including from The New York Times, indicated he had been taken to Louisiana.

Tellingly, as many other mainstream media outlets have done, The Hill describes Khalil as "a leading pro-Palestinian demonstrator." The ruling was also shared over X by Marina Medvin.

Judge Furman of SDNY blocked the Trump administration from removing Mahmoud Khalil from the US, “a Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student,” as the White House described him.

The basis articulated by the court is to preserve jurisdiction over the removal. pic.twitter.com/BZqZ3fBlhe
— Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) March 10, 2025

Here's where things get interesting, though, because it appears the Trump administration may have outfoxed the judge in this case. According to reports, Khalil was moved to an ICE detention center in Louisiana. Why is that important? Because while Furman issued his order based on Khalil's New York petition for habeas corpus (i.e., that he be released pending further litigation), the law requires that the petition be filed in the federal court district the subject is being held in. If Khalil isn't in New York anymore, and it seems fairly certain he isn't, then Furman has no jurisdiction over the case.
Experienced former federal prosecutor and RedState contributor Shipwreckedcrew concurred with that interpretation, saying the following on social media.
It has been speculated about -- and I agree -- that this was done to deprive SDNY of venue over a habeas corpus petition as those are supposed to be filed in the federal district court where the person is being held.
So good luck with the judges in Louisiana.
It sure seems like the Trump administration just did an end-around a Barack Obama-appointed judge. Whether Furman will acknowledge that is another question. He may try some other administrative gambit to remain involved in the case, though as a non-lawyer, I'm not sure what that would be. For now, though, it seems Khalil's deportation is very much back on the table.

Nevertheless, the news of such a ruling is likely to come as welcome news to radical leftists, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who has posted numerous times on Monday, and Senate Judiciary Democrats, who have used their platforms to loudly speak up up in favor of Khalil.

The Senate Judiciary Democrats account was even ratioed by the White House, which has been posting about Khalil's arrest throughout Monday, as Katie covered.

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