US judge temporarily blocks deportation of arrested Palestinian Columbia student
A US District Court judge in New York has ordered that Palestinian Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil not be deported for now, “unless and until the Court orders otherwise”.
Judge Jesse Furman also set a court hearing in Khalil’s case for Wednesday.
Khalil’s lawyers urged Furman to order Khalil’s return to New York after he was moved to a federal jail for migrants in Louisiana to await deportation proceedings, accusing the government of seeking to deprive Khalil of access to legal counsel by sending him far from New York.
Khalil, a US lawful permanent resident who participated in protests against Israel’s war on Gaza at Columbia University in New York, was arrested on Saturday night as he tried to enter his home with his wife, a US citizen who is eight months pregnant.
The Jena/La Salle ICE detention facility where Palestinian Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil, was transferred is seen in Jena, Louisiana, on Monday
A ‘dangerous’ moment: Advocates denounce arrest of activist Mahmoud Khalil
Civil liberties organisations and academics have raised alarm at the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student activist at Columbia University, calling it a serious breach of free-speech rights under the administration of President Donald Trump.
Free speech groups point out that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused Khalil of leading “activities aligned with Hamas, a designated terrorist organization”.
But analysts note that the department’s allegation falls short of more tangible claims. US law, for instance, prohibits anyone in the country’s jurisdiction from providing “material support” to terrorist organisations.
The rationale provided for Khalil’s arrest, experts argue, was overly broad and could be wielded against any voices critical of Israel and US foreign policy.
“It’s a loophole so big that you could drive a truck through it,” Will Creeley, the legal director of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a free speech group, told Al Jazeera.
Demonstrators hold placards during a protest, after ICE agents arrested Palestinian student protester Mahmoud Khalil, at Foley Square in New York City, on Monday
Columbia professor says Khalil arrest a ‘dismal moment in American history’
Columbia University mathematics professor Michael Thaddeus condemned Khalil’s arrest on Monday, saying it has “dealt a severe blow to that trust placed in us by the world”.
“My activist colleagues behind me on the faculty have for many years circulated petitions and signed open letters in support of political prisoners held by authoritarian regimes in places like Russia, China and Iran,” he said.
“Now we’re facing a horrifying reality that our own student, a member of the Columbia community, has become a political prisoner here in the United States. This is a dismal moment in American history,” he added.
Rights groups have condemned Khalil’s arrest and attempted deportation as unconstitutional.
