At a Glance
Date Filed:
Current Status
On April 1, 2025, Judge Farbiarz denied the government's motion to dismiss the case or transfer it to Louisiana, ruling the New Jersey court has jurisdiction.
Our Team:
- Samah Sisay
- Baher Azmy
- Diala Shamas
- Leah Todd
Co-Counsel
Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility (CLEAR) project at CUNY School of Law
Dratel & Lewis
Washington Square Legal Services Immigrant Rights Clinic at NYU Law School
American Civil Liberties Union
New York Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey
Client(s)
Mahmoud Khalil
Case Description
Mahmoud Khalil is a Palestinian activist and graduate student at Columbia University who was active with Columbia's Gaza Solidarity Encampment, serving as negotiator with the university and speaking to press. He is also a lawful U.S. permanent resident and soon-to-be father.
On March 8, 2025, plainclothes Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents arrested Mahmoud at his university apartment and threatened to arrest his eight-months-pregnant U.S. citizen wife. The agents stated that the U.S. Department of State had revoked Mahmoud's student visa. When his wife showed the agents that Mahmoud has a green card, not a visa, they said that it was revoked as well. Mahmoud was transferred to immigration detention in Louisiana without notice to counsel or his wife, despite the fact that his habeas case was pending in New York.
The Center for Constitutional Rights and co-counsel Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility (CLEAR) project at CUNY School of Law filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order mandating Mahmoud's return to New York to proceed with his pending habeas case on March 10, 2025. Mahmoud's habeas petition was filed before he was transferred to Louisiana, and challenges his arrest and detention as violations of the First and Fifth Amendments.
Mahmoud's arrest comes in the context of the Trump administration's new federal initiative to identify organizers active in Palestine solidarity protests who have student visas and target them for deportation. It also follows Columbia University's crackdown on student organizing against Israel's genocide in Gaza, including a previous attempt to suspend Mahmoud for his activism. In response to threats of deportation and news that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents would begin approaching people in Columbia's neighborhood as part of this operation, the university has issued guidance advising students, faculty, and staff not to interfere, essentially capitulating to the government's efforts.
This case builds on the Center for Constitutional Rights and partners' historic work to challenge repression against Palestine solidarity activists, which has skyrocketed since October 2023.
