A federal judge ruled against the Trump administration‘s request to transfer pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil‘s case to Louisiana, where he is being held.
This is the second time a federal judge has rejected the Justice Department’s efforts to litigate Khalil’s case in Louisiana, after a Manhattan-based judge transferred the case to New Jersey two weeks ago.
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“The case as filed can go forward only here. The other 93 districts, where the Petitioner was nowhere to be found, are out of the question,” U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz wrote in his ruling Tuesday.
Farbiarz, a Biden appointee, based his ruling on the fact that Khalil was held in New Jersey shortly after his arrest.
Khalil had his green card revoked over his participation in several anti-Israel protests where there was a distribution of Hamas propaganda.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACCUSES KHALIL OF HIDING ASSOCIATION WITH UNRWA IN GREEN CARD APPLICATION
His deportation is currently on pause per U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman’s ruling two weeks ago. Furman was the first to reject the DOJ’s efforts to transfer the case to Louisiana, ruling he did not have jurisdiction over it.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin classified Khalil’s arrest as part of President Donald Trump’s recent executive order targeting campus antisemitism.