Detained Columbia grad student Mahmoud Khalil could be released as soon as Friday, based on a timeline set by an immigration judge in Louisiana.
Judge Jamee Comans on Tuesday ordered President Trump’s administration to turn over any evidence supporting Khalil’s continued detention by Wednesday. Comans said if the evidence doesn’t support Khalil’s deportation, she would “terminate the case on Friday.”
Khalil, 30, was detained March 8 at his Manhattan apartment, part of a series of arrests of foreign-born students involved in pro-Palestine protests. Khalil, like the other students, was in the U.S. legally.
“We will not forget those who have orchestrated this injustice, the government officials and university administrators who have targeted you without cause, without any shred of evidence to justify their actions,” Khalil’s wife, Noor Abdalla, wrote in an open letter.
The feds scooped up Khalil and the other students on a rarely used provision that gives the secretary of state power to deport noncitizen residents who pose “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
Government attorneys have claimed pro-Palestine rallies meet those criteria. However, none of the students have yet to be deported, as they’re subject to high-profile court fights.
Khalil is potentially facing two court cases: one in Louisiana where he’s detained at an immigration jail, and one in New Jersey where his lawyers petitioned for his release.
“We believe that it is the highest honor of our lives to struggle for the cause of Palestinian liberation,” Khalil wrote in an opinion piece published Friday in the Columbia Spectator. “History will redeem us, while those who were content to wait on the sidelines will be forever remembered for their silence.”
With News Wire Services
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