Columbia Protest Organizer Mahmoud Khalil Hasn’t Been Able To Contact Legal Team
William Turton Blog attended a hearing for Khalil in downtown Manhattan today.
Update 2:40PM: Updated below with a statement from Khalil’s wife.
Lawyers for arrested Columbia student protest organizer Mahmoud Khalil and U.S. Government previewed arguments about which court will have jurisdiction over Khalil’s case before a federal judge in downtown Manhattan today.
William Turton Blog attended the hearing. The courtroom was completely full of press, court staff, and members of the public. Many who waited in line were sent to watch the hearing in an overflow courtroom.
Khalil has been explicitly targeted by the Trump administration for his role in organizing Columbia student protests in opposition to the war in Gaza. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has cited an obscure Statute of the Immigration and Nationality Act as the administration’s legal rationale for attempting to deport Khalil without due process. Khalil has not been charged with a crime.
Ramzi Kassem, a lawyer for Khalil, said that his legal team had been unable to have a privileged phone call since Khalil was arrested on Saturday night. When Khalil’s legal team requested a phone call, they were informed the earliest they could speak with him was March 20th. Judge Furman ruled that Khaili be able to speak with his legal team in a privileged phone call today and tomorrow.
Khalil’s lawyers refrained from offering legal arguments in opposition to the arrest and attempted deportation. Primarily at issue in court today was a question of jurisdiction and where exactly Khalil was when certain legal action was taken. The answer could significantly impact Khalil’s case.
Khalil, a legal permanent resident of the United States, was arrested by two Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents around 8 P.M. on Saturday, March 8th while returning home to Columbia University owned housing with his pregnant wife. While being arrested, Khalil was able to contact his lawyer over the phone.
Sometime after his arrest, Khalil was moved to Elizabeth, New Jersey. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Waterman said in court today that Khalil was present in New Jersey at 3:20 A.M.
On the morning of Sunday, March 9th, at 4:40 AM, lawyers for Khalil filed a writ of habeas corpus in the Southern District Court of New York. That document is not yet available to the public, though Judge Jesse M. Furman indicated today he plans to unseal it.
Update 2:30 PM: The writ of habeas corpus originally filed on March 9th has just been unsealed. You can read it below.
Because the writ of habeas corpus was filed while Khalil was in New Jersey, Waterman argued that the Southern District of New York doesn't have jurisdiction over the case.
Khalil was later moved to the LaSalle Detention Facility in Jena, Louisiana, where he is currently being held.
Kaseem, Khalil’s lawyer, noted previous case law where courts have considered which law enforcement field office arrested a defendant in determining jurisdiction. Judge Furman noted that he has rejected that argument in the past. Furman previously ruled to keep Khalil in the United States in order to preserve the Court’s jurisdiction.
Based on the arguments offered by both parties, it seems unlikely that the case will remain in the Southern District of New York. The case will likely either take place in Elizabeth, New Jersey or in Louisiana. But the decision is, for now, up to Judge Furman.
Lawyers for Kahlil and for the U.S. government plan to submit updated briefings later this week.
Update 2:40 PM: Shezza Abboushi Dallal, also a lawyer for Khalil, read a statement from his wife outside the courthouse.
“My husband was kidnapped from our home and its shameful that the United States government continues to hold him because he stood for the rights and the lives of his people,” the statement said. “I demand his immediate release and return to our family.”
Listen to the full statement here:
“It simply cannot be the case that you can be disappeared at night off the streets of New York City simply because the current administration dislikes what you have to say,” Ramzi Kassem, a lawyer for Khalil, said outside the courthouse. Kassem noted that they currently have a motion before the judge to return Khalil to New York.
This is a developing blog and will be updated…
Thank you to Jordan M for his assistance in producing this story.