Mohammed Khalil Arrest Timeline
Timeline shows how law enforcement moved Khalil through four states over 28 hours
Editor's Note: William Turton Blog included a brutal typo in the deck of our last dispatch. We regret the error. If you enjoy reading this publication, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to support independent journalism.
One of the main legal issues before the judge in the case of Columbia University student protest organizer Mohammed Khalil is which court has jurisdiction. The U.S. government and lawyers for Khalil have disagreed in multiple filings on the appropriate venue. The answer may depend on where Khalil was when his lawyers initiated the case.
(Late last night, Khalil’s lawyers filed a request for bail.)
Below is a brief summary of Khalil and the U.S. government’s arguments, as well as a timeline of Khalil’s arrest, pieced together from court filings. The exact location of Khalil may prove to be irrelevant if the judge, Jesse Furman, makes a ruling considering the exceptional circumstances of the case. Either way, the timeline provides a stomach-churning account of Khalil’s arrest by four plainclothes immigration officers. Over the course of 28 hours, he was transported through four states and 1,200 miles to a detention facility in Louisiana. Khalil wouldn’t be able to speak with his lawyers until days after arriving in Louisiana.
To create this timeline, I relied heavily on the Amended Complaint filed by Khalil’s lawyers. I also referenced a declaration by William P. Joyce, the Acting Field Office Director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in New York City.
At 4:40 AM on Sunday March 9th, a few hours after Khalil was arrested from the lobby of his apartment building in Manhattan, Khalil’s lawyer, Amy Greer filed a writ of habeas corpus in the Southern District Court in New York.
A writ of habeas corpus, (Latin translation: ”you have the body”) is a legal document that requests the government produce a detainee and justify their arrest. Generally speaking, the location of the detainee when the habeas corpus was filed would determine which court would have jurisdiction over the case.
Lawyers for the U.S. government argue that because Khalil was detained at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey when the habeas was filed, the Southern District of New York does not have jurisdiction over the case. As a result, they say, the case should be dismissed or transferred to another jurisdiction. You can read their arguments here.
Khalil’s lawyers have argued in a filing late Friday night that the Southern District court does in fact have jurisdiction. Their arguments rely heavily on a 2002 Supreme Court case, Rumsfeld v. Padilla, which says typical habeas rules are subject to exceptions in rare but important cases. You can read their arguments here.
The court that ultimately handles Khalil’s case—whether in New York, New Jersey, or Louisiana—could significantly impact the case in its early stages.
William Turton Blog will refrain from delving into further complicated legal details. This timeline will be updated as new information becomes available.
Friday March 7, 2025
Khalil emailed the Columbia University interim president writing, “I haven’t been able to sleep, fearing that ICE or a dangerous individual might come to my home.”
Saturday March 8, 2025
8:48 PM: HSI agents arrest Khalil at 195 Claremont Avenue in Manhattan, New York. Khalil’s wife, Noor Ramez Abdalla, records a video of the arrest.
8:44 PM: Law enforcement transfers Khalil to 26 Federal Plaza, the location of the NYC ICE Field Office
9:20 PM: Khalil arrives at 26 Federal Plaza
10:49 PM: ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations requests bedspace for Khalil in New Orleans
Sunday March 9, 2025
1:35 AM: Khalil’s wife checks the ICE Detainee locator, which lists Khalil as being in custody in New York 1:35 a.m
1:40 AM: Khalil departs 26 Federal Plaza
2:20 AM: Khalil is booked into a detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey
4:29 AM: Khalil attorney Amy Greer checks the ICE Detainee locator, which lists Khalil as being in custody in New York
4:40 AM: Greer files habeas corpus petition
8:30 AM: ICE Detainee locator still lists Khalil as being in custody in New York
Sometime after 9 a.m: ICE locator changed to say that Mahmoud was detained in Elizabeth, New Jersey, at the Elizabeth Contract Detention Facility
9:29 am: Khalil’s immigration attorney attempted to call the Elizabeth facility twice, but no one answered
11:20 AM: Mahmoud’s wife went to the Elizabeth Detention Center to see him, but she was told that Mahmoud was not showing up in the system
11:30 AM: Khalil departed Elizabeth Detention Facility
Around 12 PM: “ICE officers—one of whom Mr. Khalil believes he recognized from the night before at 26 Federal Plaza—handcuffed and shackled Mr. Khalil and placed him in a van. Khalil was told he was then going to JFK [airport] without further clarification.”
Sometime after 1:20 P.M: ICE writes Khalil’s attorney by email stating thatKhalil was in the process of being transferred to a detention facility within the New Orleans ERO Field Office
2:45 p.m: Khalil took an American Airlines flight from JFK around 2:45 p.m. to Dallas, Texas. Khalil saw one of the officers receive a text message that instructed him not to let him have a phone call
5:30 p.m: Khalil arrives in Dallas
9:30 p.m: Khalil departs Dallas on an American Airlines flight to Alexandria, Louisiana
Monday March 10, 2025
12:33 AM: Khalil was booked into the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Facility