A federal appeals court on Friday declined to review Mahmoud Khalil’s case, a decision that a spokeswoman for Mr. Khalil said would immediately prompt him to appeal to the Supreme Court as he tries to stave off his deportation.
Mr. Khalil, 31, is a Columbia University graduate who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last March and quickly became the face of President Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus demonstrators. His immigration case has been sped through courts controlled by the executive branch, even as his lawyers have sought to stop his deportation in federal court, arguing that the case against him violates the First Amendment.
The White House has said that Mr. Khalil’s presence in the United States spreads antisemitism, flying in the face of Mr. Trump’s foreign policy agenda. They have cited his prominent role in the protests that rocked Columbia’s campus in 2024 while making unsubstantiated accusations, including that he distributed pro-Hamas fliers. Mr. Khalil, a legal permanent resident who is married to an American, has denounced antisemitism and said that criticism of Israel is not inherently antisemitic.
On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit declined to review a January decision by three of its own judges that opened the door for Mr. Khalil to be arrested again. That set up the possibility that the remaining barriers preventing Mr. Khalil from being ejected could be dissolved. His lawyers are expected to ask the Supreme Court to halt the case’s progress as they fight the issues on the merits. (Even if Mr. Khalil were to be deported, his case would continue to be litigated.)
“We hope the Supreme Court will recognize how dangerous the Third Circuit’s decision was, not just for Mahmoud but for other noncitizens the administration has its vengeful sights upon,” said Baher Azmy, a lawyer for Mr. Khalil and legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Friday decision split the Third Circuit. Six judges voted to deny Mr. Khalil’s request, while five dissented. The majority did not elaborate on the rationale for its decision. Three of the dissenting judges wrote that the ruling would imperil Mr. Khalil’s civil liberties and those of other noncitizens in similar situations.
Mr. Khalil was held in a Louisiana detention center for months last year after he was arrested, missing the birth of his child. He was freed in June, but his immigration case proceeded apace. In April, an immigration court that is part of the Justice Department affirmed that he could be deported, an unusually quick decision that was also characterized by other irregularities. After The New York Times reported on those irregularities, Mr. Khalil’s lawyers asked that court to reopen its case.
The first indication that the Third Circuit would not review Mr. Khalil’s case came earlier Friday, when Emil Bove, a judge on the circuit who was a top Justice Department official when Mr. Khalil was arrested, declined to weigh in on Mr. Khalil’s lawyers’ request that he recuse himself, writing that the issue was moot.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
