Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil was arrested Saturday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at his university-owned apartment for his role in anti-Israel campus protests where repugnant flyers glorifying Hamas were handed out.
The Trump admin insists the US has legal justification to deport Khalil, whose arrest has sparked protests and outrage from the left.
Khalil, 30, a green card-holding Palestinian who received his graduate degree from the elite school in December, was brought to Jena/LaSalle Detention Facility in Louisiana, where a source said he was being “staged” for removal from the US.
But Manhattan federal Judge Jesse Furman temporarily halted his deportation Monday after Khalil’s attorney filed a petition.
Live updates have ended, but read on for everything you need to know from Mahmoud Khalil’s federal court hearing.
Lawyers representing the U.S. government and Ramzi Kassem and Brandon Waterman, attorneys representing detained Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil had their first hearing in court Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman.
Khalil's wife, an American citizen, was also featured in court sketches.
"My husband was kidnapped from our home and it's shameful that the United States government continues to hold him because he stood for the rights and lives of his people.
"I demand his immediate release and return to our family.
"His disappearance has devastated our lives.
"Every day without him is filled with uncertainty, not just for me but for our entire family and community.
Our loved ones are struggling with the pain and fear of his sudden absence.
"And yet, we are not alone. So many who know and love Mahmoud have come together, refusing to stay silent. Their support is a testament to his character and to the deep injustice of what is being done to him."
The crowd across the street in Foley Square roared and banged drums and cowbells at the end of the statement.
Mahmoud Khalil wasn't in court and didn't appear by video or phone during the highly anticipated hearing in his case seeking to be freed from ICE custody.
The hearing took place in a large, packed ceremonial courtroom inside a Manhattan federal courthouse at 11:30 a.m. and lasted roughly 30 minutes.
Khalil's lawyers said they plan to file an updated version of their petition by Thursday, and the feds said they will file papers by midnight laying out their arguments for why the case should be moved out of New York.
Khalil's side has until midnight Friday to fight the motion for the case to be transferred and the feds can give their final reply by Monday midnight.
Judge Jesse Furman ruled during the hearing -- which was attended by dozens of press, Khalil supporters and others who filled the courtroom to capacity -- the case is so important to the public that he would order it to be unsealed, even though detention cases are not normally publicly accessible.
Furman also ordered Khalil and his attorneys to be allotted one phone call Wednesday and one Thursday to help the lawyers prep for the updated version of his case.
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