In more news about Columbia, a judge has transferred Mahmoud Khalil’s case to New Jersey, where it will be overseen by President Biden-appointed Judge Michael Farbiarz. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman cleared the way for Khalil to stay in the U.S. and challenge his arrest and the Trump administration’s attempts to deport him for protesting for Palestinian rights while he was a student at Columbia. Khalil is a permanent U.S. resident. He was arrested in Manhattan but detained in New Jersey when his lawyers filed suit. He was subsequently transferred to an ICE jail in Jena, Louisiana.
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This was done last week.
Current developments:
- The government filed a renewed motion to transfer from New Jersey to Western Louisiana, where Khalil physically is. Khalil contests this motion vigorously, because Louisiana is in the Fifth Circuit for appeals, and the Fifth Circuit is known to be pretty conservative. (District courts follow circuit court precedent for whatever circuit they’re in, so this doesn’t just matter on appeal).
- Khalil still wants to be released on bail while the rest of this case is litigated.
- Khalil filled a cross motion to send the case back to New York, but only so he is still able to appeal the decision to leave New York later.
- The government added additional immigration charges to the underlying deportation case. Khalil is now charged with the Secretary of State determination (original), and with omitting 2 jobs and a “club membership” on his green card application in 2024. The “club” in question is the protest student group he was or is a member of.
