An immigration judge in Louisiana on Thursday denied a request to terminate Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil’s deportation proceedings after his attorneys argued that he was arrested illegally and without a warrant over two months ago.
Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student and lawful permanent resident who played a central role in negotiations on behalf of pro-Palestinian student protesters last year, has been in immigration custody since March. He has been detained indefinitely as an immigration judge previously upheld the Trump administration’s decision to deport Khalil and a federal district judge has blocked his immediate removal from the country.
During the Thursday hearing, Judge Jamee Comans denied a government motion that would have prevented Khalil from raising an asylum claim, according to Khalil’s attorneys. Comans also denied motions by Khalil’s attorneys to postpone the hearing to a later date and to subpoena witnesses.
After witnesses provided testimony and Khalil took the stand in his own defense, the lengthy hearing ended Thursday evening without a ruling from the judge.
Comans asked lawyers to submit written closing arguments by June 2. The judge then intends to rule on whether Khalil can be deported from the US and if he’s entitled to any form of relief that would enable him to remain in the country, said Ramzi Kassem, an attorney for Khalil.
Khalil does not “expect any due process from these immigration proceedings,” his attorneys told CNN Thursday night.
“The immigration judge is not an independent judge. She’s an employee of the Department of Justice. She serves at the pleasure of the President. She’s subject to political pressure by the government,” Kassem said.
Just before the immigration court hearing, the Syrian-born Palestinian refugee got to hold his newborn for the first time Thursday at the Louisiana detention center where he has been held, his attorneys told CNN.
Khalil, who hasn’t been charged with a crime, is one of several foreign nationals the Trump administration has accused of posing a national security threat due to alleged ties to terrorist organizations – a claim his attorneys strongly dispute.
His attorneys on Thursday argued the government has engaged in egregious misconduct. The lawyers have challenged the legality of Khalil’s warrantless arrest and say he was targeted for his pro-Palestinian views.
“It’s an attempt, an unsuccessful attempt at that, to silence people who speak up in defense of Palestinian human rights,” Kassem said. “The government has presented no evidence in support of its baseless rhetoric.”
In response to CNN’s request for comment on the hearing, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said: “Mahmoud Kahlil should use the CBP Home app to self-deport.”