A federal appeals court in the United States on Thursday overturned a lower court ruling that had freed Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil from immigration detention, moving the government closer to re-arresting and potentially deporting him.
In a decision delivered by a three-judge panel of the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, the judges directed a federal district court in New Jersey to dismiss Khalil’s habeas petition, the legal action that had led to his release.
The panel held that the district court lacked jurisdiction, stressing that immigration cases are governed by a separate legal framework.
By a 2–1 majority, the judges ruled that federal immigration law requires individuals contesting deportation to file a petition for review of a final removal order directly with a federal appeals court, rather than a district court.
“That scheme ensures that petitioners get just one bite at the apple—not zero or two,” the panel wrote. “But it also means that some petitioners, like Khalil, will have to wait to seek relief for allegedly unlawful government conduct.”
The panel further stated that the law prevents Khalil “from attacking his detention and removal in a habeas petition.”
Reacting to the ruling, Khalil’s lawyer, Baher Azmy, expressed strong opposition. “We are disappointed by and strongly disagree with the majority’s opinion, but take heart in the powerful dissenting opinion and will continue to fight against his unlawful persecution and detention through all available legal avenues,” he said in a statement to CNN.
The ruling represents a significant legal victory for the Trump administration, which has pursued an aggressive policy of detaining and deporting noncitizens involved in protests against Israel.
Khalil, a prominent figure in pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University, was arrested at his apartment on March 8, 2025. He spent about three months in an immigration detention facility in Louisiana, during which time he missed the birth of his first child.
US authorities have accused him of organizing activities “aligned to Hamas,” though no evidence has been publicly presented and he has not been charged with any crime.
Officials have relied on a rarely invoked statute that permits the removal of noncitizens whose views are considered harmful to US foreign policy interests.
In June, however, a federal judge in New Jersey ruled that the government’s justification was likely unconstitutional and ordered Khalil’s release.
The Trump administration appealed that decision, insisting that deportation matters should be determined by an immigration judge rather than a federal district court. It has also alleged that Khalil failed to properly disclose information on his green card application.
Khalil has rejected those claims as “baseless and ridiculous,” describing his arrest as a “direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza.”
The appeals court ruling comes as an immigration appeals board considers an earlier decision by an immigration judge that found Khalil eligible for deportation. His legal team has argued that the federal court’s earlier order should override that finding.
The immigration judge has indicated that Khalil could be removed to Algeria, where he reportedly has citizenship through a distant relative, or to Syria, where he was born in a refugee camp to a Palestinian family.
Khalil’s lawyers maintain that deportation to either country would expose him to life-threatening danger.
