NewzLower court order blocking re-detention remains in place until Supreme Court weighs in, after ruling said immigration law bars district judge from ordering release from ICE custody resident, was detained by immigration authorities last year because of his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University in the spring of 2024. Mahmoud Khalil petitions US Supreme Court to hear his free speech case Submitted by MEE staff on Mon, 10/19/2026 - 20:54 Should the court decide to hear it, a ruling would have far-reaching implications for many noncitizen Palestine advocates being pursued by the Trump administration Mahmoud Khalil speaks during a press briefing over Zoom, organised by the Center for Constitutional Rights, to provide an update on his petition to the US Supreme Court, on 19 October 2026 (Screengrab) Off Former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil has asked the highest court in the US to hear his case, arguing the government is trying to shut down the ability of a federal judge to intervene when free speech rights are curtailed.
Should the Supreme Court take up the case, it would have wide-reaching implications for all the noncitizen US residents caught up in the Trump administration's pro-Palestine speech-related immigration crackdown, including Georgetown University scholar Badar Khan Suri. Khalil's petition argues that the US Immigration and Nationality Act does not bar federal courts from reviewing "habeas" claims challenging punitive or retaliatory detention, and that if it does, its application in his case is unconstitutional. The term "habeas" stems from "habeas corpus", which is of Latin origin.
In 13th-century England, it was used to prevent the king from disappearing people without due process. Today, it applies to everyone on US territory, citizen or not. In June 2025, it was a New Jersey federal judge who ordered Khalil's release from immigration detention after more than three months in custody.
Khalil was not deemed a danger or a flight risk, and the Trump administration's use of a rare foreign policy threat provision to arrest him was considered by the judge to be too vague. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); In its appeal, the US government claimed the federal judge had no right to intervene as Khalil's immigration case played out, given that the Trump administration wanted to deport him. Immigration cases in the US are heard by immigration judges who work under the Department of Justice.
Federal judges, by contrast, are independent. The Department of Justice is currently run by President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, Todd Blanche. "The question before the court is not directly about the obvious unconstitutionality of th…
Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil on Monday asked the US Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that opened the door for US President Donald Trump’s administration to rearrest and deport the Palestinian activist. Khalil’s lawyers asked the justices to take up his case after the Philadelphia-based 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that federal immigration law barred a lower-court judge from ordering his release from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. WASHINGTON (AP) — Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil asked the Supreme Court on Monday to let federal judges quickly determine the legality of immigration-related detentions so that individuals cannot be held for months or years without judicial oversight.
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