Columbia Encampment Organizer Mahmoud Khalil Can Be Rearrested, Appeals Court Rules

A federal appeals court ruled that a lower court didn’t have jurisdiction to order the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of anti-Semitic protests at Columbia University, from detention. The reversal could lead to his rearrest and brings the Trump administration closer to deporting Khalil.

In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled on Thursday that the Immigration and Nationality Act indicated that Khalil’s petition for release needed to first go through immigration court processes before a district court could rule on the matter. The panel ordered New Jersey district judge Michael E. Farbiarz, who ordered Khalil’s release in June, to dismiss Khalil’s petition.

The ruling serves as more than just a win for the Trump administration in its efforts to deport Khalil—it could also prevent other foreign nationals arrested last year over their anti-Semitic activism from bypassing immigration courts to secure their freedom during deportation proceedings.

Khalil’s legal team plans to appeal Thursday’s decision, with one of his attorneys, Baher Azmy, saying it will "continue to fight with all available legal options." The matter will likely next be reviewed by a full panel of Third Circuit judges.

In September, an immigration judge ordered Khalil to be deported to Algeria or Syria after finding he "willfully misrepresented" his campus activism and work for the Hamas-tied U.N. Relief and Works Agency on his immigration forms. The Trump administration reached a deal with Khalil’s lawyers and paused the proceedings, but those could resume following Thursday’s decision.

After Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack, Khalil became a prominent leader of the anti-Semitic Columbia University Apartheid Divest who organized the illegal 2024 encampments. He also led negotiations with the school as they unfolded, demanding divestment from Israel. Khalil pledged further unrest in the buildup to the fall 2024 semester, telling the Hill he would continue to push Columbia to divest from Israel by "any available means necessary." Video footage placed him at an illegal protest at Barnard College that took place in March.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked Khalil’s green card in March, arguing his presence caused "potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences" that would "compromise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest." He was detained for more than three months in Louisiana as a result.

Khalil has used his freedom to continue his anti-Israel efforts. Shortly after his release, Khalil refused to condemn Hamas during an interview with CNN and lashed out at the interviewers for suggesting he should.

"Just to be clear here, do you specifically condemn Hamas, a designated terrorist organization in the United States, not just for their action on Oct. 7?" CNN’s Pamela Brown asked Khalil.

"I condemn the killing of all civilians," Khalil told the Situation Room cohost. "Full stop. I don't want to get into it." When Brown asked again, Khalil said, "I hate this selective outrage of condemnation, because this wouldn't lead to a constructive conversation."

"To me, it's always, as I said, disingenuous and absurd to ask such questions when literally 62,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel," he continued. "And that's why I wouldn't really engage much into such questions on condemnation or not. Because selective condemnation wouldn't get us anywhere. It’s just like hypocrite [sic] to be honest."

Khalil spoke at ArabCon alongside a deep roster of Hamas sympathizers and reaffirmed his commitment to "the liberation of Palestine." He also attended New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani’s (D.) election victory party, which included other anti-Israel activists, such as Hasan Piker.

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