President Trump, Mahmoud Khalil and protesters (Getty Images)
Khalil, who played a major role in the anti-Israel protests at Columbia, is fighting against his deportation in the courts. Not long after he was arrested, a judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting him.
In one of the first legal victories for Khalil, a judge on Wednesday ordered his deportation case be heard in New Jersey, not Louisiana, where he is being held. The judge cited a law that required the case be held in the same jurisdiction where Khalil's attorneys first filed a lawsuit to challenge his detention.
The Trump administration previously said there was a bedbug infestation at the detention facility in New Jersey, near Khalil's arrest, leading them to have to ship him to Louisiana.
RUBIO DEFENDS DEPORTATIONS OF HAMAS SUPPORTERS AFTER COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY ACTIVIST ARREST
"While I await legal decisions that hold the futures of my wife and child in the balance, those who enabled my targeting remain comfortably at Columbia University," Khalil wrote in his letter. "Presidents Shafik, Armstrong, and Dean Yarhi-Milo laid the groundwork for the U.S. government to target me by arbitrarily disciplining pro-Palestinian students and allowing viral doxing campaigns – based on racism and disinformation – to go unchecked."
NYPD officers patrol as pro-Palestine protesters demonstrate outside of Columbia University’s campus in New York City on Thursday, April 18, 2024. Multiple students were arrested as officers cleared an encampment on the campus’ lawn. (Peter Gerber for Fox News Digital)
Khalil said his arrest was both a direct affront to his First Amendment rights and a broader attempt by the Trump administration to "suppress dissent." He wrote that "in the weeks ahead" students, activists and elected officials "must unite to defend the right to protest for Palestine."
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"I have always believed that my duty is not only to liberate myself from the oppressor, but also to liberate my oppressors from their hatred and fear."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mahmoud-khalil-blames-anti-palestinian-racism-arrest-first-statement-since-ice-detainment