Whats Next for Mahmoud Khalil? A Fight to Keep His Case in New York.
The first legal battle for Mahmoud Khalil, the recent Columbia University graduate who was arrested and moved to Louisiana last week, is the fight to keep his case in New York.The issue may seem minor compared with the First Amendment concerns raised by the arrest of Mr.Khalil, a legal permanent resident who was a prominent figure in pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the Columbia campus and who the Trump administration is seeking to deport.But where Mr.
Khalil’s case is heard could have profound consequences, not just for him but for anyone else the White House targets for removal from the United States.If Mr.
Khalil remains in Louisiana, his case is likely to end up in one of the nation’s most conservative appeals courts, which could determine whether the law the government has cited as the rationale for his detention is allowed to stand.The White House has accused Mr.Khalil of siding with Hamas terrorists during the Columbia protests and spreading antisemitism.
That accusation, which Mr.Khalil’s lawyers deny, is not criminal and in fact, Mr.
Khalil has not been charged with any crime.Instead, Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, has cited a little-used law to justify the detention.The measure says Mr.
Rubio can initiate deportation proceedings against any noncitizen whose presence in the United States he deems a threat to the country’s foreign policy aims.That law, which would seem to grant the Trump administration almost unchecked power in deporting noncitizens, appears not to have been reviewed by an appeals court, which could determine whether it is constitutional.And if Mr.
Khalil’s immigration case plays out in Louisiana, it will most likely be appealed to the U.S.Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which presides over federal court cases that come from Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
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