A US appeals court has overturned a lower court’s order freeing “pro-Hamas” activist Mahmoud Khalil, calling the move as a major win for the Trump administration in its crackdown on national security threats.
In a post on X, the State Department stated: “The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down the decision made by an activist judge to release pro-Hamas activist Mahmoud Khalil. This is a huge win for the Trump Administration. We will not allow terrorist supporters to endanger the national security of the United States.”
In a 2-1 ruling Thursday, the Third Circuit panel dismissed Khalil’s petition against his detention and deportation. Judges ruled that the federal court lacking jurisdiction last year had overstepped, siding firmly with the government’s stance. This paves the way for immigration officials to potentially re-arrest him, though the order won’t kick in right away, and Khalil vows to fight on.
“Today’s ruling is deeply disappointing, but it does not break our resolve,” Khalil said in a statement. “The door may have been opened for potential re-detainment down the line, but it has not closed our commitment to Palestine and to justice and accountability. I will continue to fight, through every legal avenue and with every ounce of determination, until my rights, and the rights of others like me, are fully protected.”
Born in Syria with Algerian citizenship, Khalil is a lawful US permanent resident married to an American citizen. He was chasing a graduate degree at Columbia University in New York when authorities nabbed him last year, missing his first child’s birth in the process. He’s one of many foreign students the Trump team has targeted for ouster over anti-Israel protests, sparking free speech outcries from rights advocates.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani fired back on X, decrying Khalil’s initial arrest as political repression. “Mahmoud is free – and must remain free,” he wrote.
Khalil’s fight unfolded on dual fronts: a habeas corpus challenge in federal court questioning his lockup, and separate deportation battles in immigration courts. The appeals court backed the feds, affirming under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) that only immigration courts hold sway.
“Our holdings vindicate essential principles of habeas and immigration law,” the court noted, pointing to Congress’s dedicated path for Khalil’s claims after any final deportation order.
Those immigration courts fall under the Justice Department, not the independent bench, fueling worries about impartiality. An immigration judge already deemed him deportable. Secretary of State Marco Rubio leaned on a obscure INA clause to target Khalil and similar pro-Palestine students, labeling them risks to US foreign policy.
Judge Arianna Freeman dissented sharply, cautioning that immigration channels might sideline Khalil’s constitutional gripes. “Khalil claims that the government violated his fundamental constitutional rights. He has also alleged and proven irreparable injuries during his detention,” she wrote.
Khalil’s lawyers could push for a full Third Circuit rehearing or even the Supreme Court next. Civil liberties advocates slammed the outcome, warning it chips away at federal courts’ power to check rights abuses.
