Mahmoud Khalil asks Supreme Court to let U.S. judges quickly reverse immigration detentions

WASHINGTON — Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil asked the Supreme Court on Monday to let federal judges quickly determine the legality of immigration-related detentions so that people cannot be held for months or years without judicial oversight.

In papers filed with the high court, Khalil asked it to overturn a ruling earlier this year by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia that found federal courts do not have jurisdiction to review the legality of the detentions until immigration courts had fully considered each case.

Khalil, a lawful permanent U.S. resident, was detained by immigration authorities last year because of his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University in the spring of 2024.

The U.S. government argued at the time that Khalil’s presence in the U.S. was harmful to the country’s foreign policy interests.

As a result, the former Columbia graduate student spent over three months in detention before a federal judge in New Jersey ordered him freed after finding that the federal government had acted unconstitutionally.

Khalil told a remote news conference Monday that the appeal was “bigger than just my ability to stay here.” He said he wanted to ensure that thousands of immigrants, documented or not…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/health