New York district court judge Jesse Furman, who put a hold on the Trump administration’s efforts to deport the recent Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, who led anti-Israel protests on campus, ruled that the case will transfer to New Jersey.
The Trump administration argued in federal court last week that New York lacks jurisdiction to hear the case and that Khalil’s hearing should take place in Louisiana, where he is being held at the LaSalle detention Center.
Furman, an observant Jew who was nominated for the bench by then President Barack Obama, ruled that Khalil should be tried in New Jersey, since he was held at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Newark when his lawyers challenged his arrest.
Federal agents arrested Khalil, who was born in Syria and has ties to Algeria, on March 9. The Trump administration has said that he led anti-Israel protests at Columbia, including protests that got violent and broke the law. The White House has said that Khalil has supported Hamas and is thus subject to deportation.
Khalil holds a green card and is reportedly married to a U.S. citizen.
A New Jersey court will now determine if he will be deported. (The court has acknowledged receipt of the transferred case.)
Marc Stern, chief legal officer at the American Jewish Committee, told JNS that the court’s decision is a positive development.
“Given the controversy surrounding the case, it is important that it be heard quickly and that there is no doubt about whether he is getting a fair hearing,” he told JNS. “Changing the venue to New Jersey is more likely to be perceived by many as fair.”
