Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil’s case was transferred to New Jersey on Wednesday by a federal judge in a compromise rejecting the pro-Palestinian activist’s bid to keep it in Manhattan and the Justice Department’s attempt to move it to Louisiana.
“These conclusions flow from the undisputed fact that, at 4:40 a.m. on March 9, 2025, when Khalil’s lawyer filed the Petition on his behalf, he was detained in New Jersey,” Manhattan Federal Judge Jesse Furman wrote.
The judge later added, “Khalil filed in the wrong district through no fault of his own; his lawyer reasonably relied on the information made available to her by the Government at the time of filing.”
The student activist, a green card holder, is facing possible deportation for his participation in campus protests against Israel’s war on Gaza and Columbia’s investment ties to the Israeli regime. He has not been charged with any crimes. Instead, the government says his advocacy threatens foreign policy interests, citing an obscure provision that empowers the Secretary of State to order someone deported after such a determination.
Khalil was taken into custody by Homeland Security agents on March 8 after returning to his Columbia-owned apartment from dinner with his wife. Agents took him to lower Manhattan for processing and then to a detention center in Elizabeth, N.J., in the middle of the night, where he spent about eight hours before being transported more than 1,000 miles away to Jena, Louisiana.
In a Tuesday night statement, Khalil said he’d been sleeping in cold facilities without a blanket and worried he would miss the birth of his first child. His wife is eight months pregnant.
“The Trump administration is targeting me as part of a broader strategy to suppress dissent. Visa-holders, green-card carriers, and citizens alike will all be targeted for their political beliefs,” Khalil said in a statement, which he dictated to his lawyers from detention.
“Knowing fully that this moment transcends my individual circumstances, I hope nonetheless to be free to witness the birth of my first-born child.”
Lawyers for Khalil and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This story will be updated.