Mahmoud Khalil Can Freely Travel Around US As He Fights His Deportation Case, Judge Rules
A federal judge has removed travel limitations on Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, granting him permission to attend rallies and public gatherings across the United States while he continues to contest the deportation proceedings initiated under the Trump administration.
Khalil, who was released from an immigration detention facility in Louisiana this past June, had petitioned a federal magistrate judge to cancel the restrictions that had confined his movement to New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Louisiana, and Michigan.
“He wants to travel for the very significant First Amendment reasons that are at the bottom of this case,” his lawyer, Alina Das, said during a virtual court session on Thursday. “He wants to speak to issues of public concern.”
Government attorney Aniello DeSimone opposed the request, contending that Khalil “has not provided enough of a reason why he couldn’t attend these and other events telephonically.”
On Thursday, Magistrate Judge Michael Hammer ruled in Khalil’s favor, emphasizing that he was not deemed a flight risk and had abided by all conditions of his release.
Hammer also accepted the government’s stipulation that Khalil must notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in advance of any planned travel.
Khalil, known for his role in the Columbia University demonstrations protesting the war in Gaza, was taken into custody by ICE agents on March 8, becoming the first university activist detained under President Donald Trump’s initiative targeting pro-Palestinian demonstrators. A graduate student at Columbia and a lawful U.S. permanent resident, Khalil spent months in detention before his release in June by a separate federal judge, during which he missed the birth of his first child.
In September, an immigration judge in Louisiana determined that Khalil was subject to deportation for allegedly omitting information on his green card application. His legal team has since filed an appeal challenging that decision.
{Matzav.com}
