A judge granted the legal team of the Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil more time to assess his immigration case During a hearing on Friday in Louisiana.
Khalil, a 30-year-old green card holder who is married to an American citizen, was arrested on March 8 by immigration and customs enforcement officers. He is confronted with possible deportation about his alleged support for the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Although he is not accused of a crime.
The judge of the Lasalle Immigration Court in Jena said she thinks Khalil “deserves more time” to prepare for a plea and postponed the further procedure until 8 April.
A lawyer who represents the Ministry of Interior Security originally objected to the issue and argued that Khalil “is being held at the expense of the government.” Khalil’s lawyer, however, said that “these are serious charges, we need time to assess.”
Video shows arrest of Columbia Anti-Israel Ringleader Mahmoud Khalil
Mahmoud Khalil is said to have played an important role in the protests against Israel at Columbia University. (Ted Shaffrey/AP)
Khalil looked calm during the hearing, which unfolded in a small courtroom without windows. He spoke relatively calmly in his answers on the judge and seemed somewhat relaxed. The judge asked him which language he understood best and he said English and Arabic, and when she asked if they could continue in English, he said yes.
Khalil played an important role in anti-Israeli protests in Columbia.
In a letter released by his lawyers on Tuesday, Khalil characterized his arrest As “indicative of anti-Palestinian racism.” He also blamed the government of Columbia, including former university President Minouche Shafik, who was criticized because he did not respond sufficiently to accusations of anti -Semitic behavior of activists on campus before finally resigned.
“My unjust detention is an indication of anti-Palestinian racism that both Biden and Trump administrations have shown in the last 16 months, because the USA have continued to provide weapons to kill Palestinians and prevent international intervention,” wrote Khalil. “For decades, anti-Palestinian racism has had efforts to expand American laws and practices that are used to violently suppress Palestinians, Arab Americans and other communities. That is precisely why I am the target.”
Columbia Student Claims Classmate arrested by Ice ‘Hates America’
Mahmoud Khalil tells his wife to call his lawyer, Amy, when he is arrested. (The family of Mahmoud Khalil)
In one of the first legal victories for Khalil, a judge ordered his deportation case on Wednesday in New Jersey, not Louisiana, where he is held. The judge called a law that required the case in the same jurisdiction where Khalil’s lawyers brought a lawsuit for the first time to challenge his detention.
The Trump governance said earlier that there was a bed bidding in the detention facility in New Jersey, near Khalil’s arrest, which means they have to send him to Louisiana.
Lasalle Immigration Court in Jena, La., Where Khalil appeared for a hearing on Friday, March 21. (Olivianna Calmes/Fox News)
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“His illegal and unjust detention cannot stand. We will not stop fighting until he is at home,” said Noor Abdalla, his wife, earlier this week in a statement by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Alec Schemmel from FOX News has contributed to this report.
