Mahmoud Khalil's Attorneys Ask For Activist's Release As Court Case Continues
HuffPost
The motion for a preliminary injunction also asks a judge to block the Trump administration from using a vague provision to similarly arrest other noncitizens.
Attorneys for detained Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil have asked a judge to immediately release the green-card holder while his case makes its way through court — and to block the Trump administration from weaponizing immigration law in order to similarly arrest other pro-Palestinian residents who are not United States citizens.
The Columbia University graduate’s legal team filed a motion on Monday in the Southern District of New York requesting a preliminary injunction that would release him while the court reviews his habeas petition arguing his March 8 arrest was illegal. He is currently still being held at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Jena, Louisiana.
Federal plainclothes immigration agents arrested Khalil when he and his wife, Noor Abdalla, returned to their university-owned apartment at night after iftar, the breaking of their Ramadan fast. The agents did not have a judicial warrant, nor would they answer questions from Khalil’s wife and attorney about where they were taking him and on what grounds. The officers also threatened to arrest Abdalla, a U.S. citizen who recorded the interaction.
Khalil still has not been charged with a crime, though Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he plans to use a vague provision of the 1953 Immigration and Nationality Act that allows the federal government to detain people he personally believes are a threat to U.S. foreign policy. The administration has publicly accused Khalil of supporting Hamas, but not one official has been able to give evidence that would back such a claim.
Monday’s filing seeking a preliminary injunction also requests the court block the Trump administration’s newly admitted policy of using that vague provision to round up other pro-Palestinian people who are lawful residents but not U.S. citizens — calling the policy’s scope “breathtaking.”
