Mahmoud Khalil Case Transferred To New Jersey
In a new filing, Judge implies the government may have illegally arrested Khalil.
Updated at 11:00 AM with a link to Judge Furman’s order and a quote from an attorney for Khalil.
A federal judge transferred the case of Mahmoud Khalil to the District of New Jersey, a win for Khalil and his legal team.
The U.S. Government had previously argued that the case should be transferred to the Western District of Louisiana, where Khalil is currently detained, and where courts are much more conservative.
“These conclusions flow from the undisputed fact that, at 4:40 a.m. on March 9, 2025, when Khalil’s lawyer filed the Petition on his behalf, he was detained in New Jersey,” Judge Jesse M. Furman wrote in his ruling.
(We previously wrote a timeline of Khalil’s arrest, which explained how Khalil’s location at the time his lawyer initiated the case would determine the court where it would be heard.)
Khalil, who organized student protests at Columbia University in opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza, is a legal permanent resident of the United States and has not been charged with a crime.
In this filing, which is the first time Furman had commented on the case at length, he implied that the Executive Branch may have violated the law by arresting and attempting to deport Khalil. Furman previously halted Khalil’s deportation shortly after his arrest.
“In many ways, this is indeed an exceptional case, and there is a need for careful judicial review,” Furman wrote. “Such judicial review is especially critical when, as here, there are colorable claims that the Executive Branch has violated the law or exercised its otherwise lawful authority in an arbitrary and discriminatory manner.”
Download Furman’s order here:
Furman wrote that it will be up to a judge in New Jersey to determine whether to transfer Khalil to a detention center or to rule on other motions filed by Khalil’s legal team, including a request for bail. Furman also wrote that his order barring the government from deporting Khalil shall remain in effect unless the court in New Jersey rules otherwise.
A layer for Khalil said the order by Furman is a moment to celebrate.
“The court’s ruling sends a critical message to courts across the country, who are sure to face similar unprecedented challenges to their authority in the days that come, that the judiciary must not shy from its constitutional role,” Brett Max Kaufman, senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union said. “And no judicial role is more important than acting as a check on executive abuses the Trump administration has made the defining feature of its first 60 days. After this first step, we will eagerly and aggressively seek to get Mahmoud out, bring him home, and then defend his and others’ right to speak freely about Palestine or any other issue without fear of detention and deportation.”