Mahmoud Khalil’s Attorney on Breaking Developments in Detained Columbia Graduate’s Case

A Drop Site News Exclusive

By Jeremy Scahill

It has been 11 days since Department of Homeland Security agents working under the direction of the Trump White House detained Columbia University graduate and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, handcuffing him in the lobby of his apartment building. Khalil is a legal U.S. permanent resident and green card holder, and his wife, who is eight months pregnant, is a U.S. citizen. DHS took him to 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan, then to another facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, before shipping him to Louisiana—a significantly less favorable jurisdiction.

On Wednesday, Judge Jesse M. Furman in the Southern District of New York denied the Trump administration’s attempt to move Khalil’s case—and therefore the jurisdiction—from New Jersey to Louisiana. The New Jersey court will now decide if Khalil himself will be moved out of the notorious Louisiana facility. “What I think is important is that he did not transfer the case to Louisiana, which would be away from his entire legal team and would just put the case in a very different situation,” said Amy Greer, one of Khalil’s attorneys, in an interview with Drop Site. Greer said she hopes that Khalil is granted bail and released from ICE custody. “Mahmoud’s wife would love to have him back home and supporting her and of course we would all want that too, as does his whole community want him back as soon as possible.” 

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