A federal appeals court on Monday ruled that the judge who presided over the legal challenge to the Trump administration’s efforts to deport Mahmoud Khalil lacked the jurisdiction to do so.Though the court found that the New Jersey District Court had jurisdiction over a specific petition from Khalil, it also found that federal legislation had deprived it of subject-matter jurisdiction.
“Our conclusion about habeas jurisdiction requires us to answer a second question: Did the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) strip the New Jersey District Court of subject matter jurisdiction? It did,” read the decision of the Third Circuit. “[W]e hold that the District Court lacked jurisdiction over Khalil’s removal proceedings.”
Khalil’s was a high-profile deportation effort that saw the administration attempt to remove the Columbia University graduate over his involvement in pro-Palestine demonstrations in the U.S.
Khalil was released from federal custody last year, after the court ordered his release.
Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.
