From the Liveblog of
Thursday, January 15, 2026
US court rules judge had no jurisdiction to free pro-Palestinian activist Khalil, in win for Trump administration
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A US federal appeals court rules that a judge had no jurisdiction to order the release of Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil from immigration detention, delivering US President Donald Trump’s administration a victory in its efforts to deport the pro-Palestinian activist.
A 2-1 panel of the Philadelphia-based 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals orders the dismissal of a lawsuit Khalil filed challenging his detention after finding that federal immigration law strips the lower court of jurisdiction over his claims.
Khalil, an Algerian citizen who was born in Syria to a Palestinian family, became a high-profile figure after his arrest by the Trump administration in March, part of the government’s crackdown on anti-Israel activism and antisemitism on college campuses.
Khalil was held in custody for several months until he secured a court-ordered release in June. He has waged a legal battle against deportation since then as authorities continued to seek his removal from the US.
He was the head of Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a coalition of anti-Israel campus activists, while he was a graduate student at Columbia.
CUAD led disruptive protests at Columbia as the campus became an epicenter of anti-Israel activism following the outbreak of the Gaza war. Israelis and Jews at Columbia, and a university antisemitism task force, reported widespread antisemitism during the turmoil.
CUAD has endorsed violence, called for “the total eradication of Western civilization,” backed the October 2023 Hamas invasion of Israel, applauded US-designated terror groups, distributed Hamas propaganda at a university library, and supported an activist imprisoned for assaulting Jewish Columbia students.
During his release, Khalil resumed his activism, appearing at protests and in the media. He has recently defended the Hamas invasion of Israel, denied any antisemitism at Columbia, met with Sen. Bernie Sanders, called for the “collapse” of the “Zionist genocidal project,” and applauded anti-Zionist Jews.
The Times of Israel Community.