A federal appeal panel on Thursday reversed a lower court decision that released former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil from an immigration prison, bringing the government one step closer to detaining and ultimately deporting the Palestinian activist.
A three-judge panel of the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeal in Philadelphia did not decide the key issue in Khalil’s case: whether the Trump administration’s effort to throw Khalil out of the US over his campus activism and criticism of Israel is unconstitutional.
But in its 2-1 decision, the panel ruled a federal judge in New Jersey did not have jurisdiction to decide the matter at this time. Federal law requires the case to fully move through the immigration courts first, before Khalil can challenge the decision, they wrote.
“That scheme ensures that petitioners get just one bite at the apple – not zero or two,” the panel wrote. “But it also means that some petitioners, like Khalil, will have to wait to seek relief for allegedly unlawful government conduct.”
It was not clear whether the government would seek to detain Khalil, a legal permanent resident, again while his legal challenges continue.
Thursday’s decision marked a major win for the Trump administration’s sweeping campaign to detain and deport non-citizens who joined protests against Israel.