Michael Farbiarz, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, ruled that Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia University graduate who the Trump administration alleges has terror ties, must remain in detention for an alleged immigration fraud charge.
Earlier this week, the court ruled that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s justification for removing Khalil based on “a compelling foreign-policy interest” would likely be unconstitutional. In a Friday court filing, Farbiarz wrote that a second charge against Khalil, involving immigration fraud, cannot be overturned at this time.
“The petitioner did not put forward factual evidence as to why it might be unlawful to detain him on the second charge, and the petitioner failed to make meaningful legal argument to that second charge,” per the court filing.
Farbiarz wrote that Khalil may file an application for bail with an immigration judge.
Federal agents arrested Khalil, who is from Syria, on March 8. He is being held at the LaSalle Detention Facility in Jena, La. Khalil, who holds a green card and is married to a U.S. citizen, led the pro-Hamas mobs at Columbia University.
