(NewsNation) — Detained Columbia University graduate student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil is scheduled to appear before a federal immigration judge in Louisiana on Tuesday.
The proceedings will begin at 8:30 a.m. ET, according to Reuters.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested Khalil in early March, and the 30-year-old graduate student has remained in a Louisiana detention center ever since.
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Khalil, who was born in Syria and raised in a Palestinian refugee camp, helped lead pro-Palestinian protests on Columbia’s campus last year. He holds legal permanent resident status in the United States.
The U.S. is making the case to deport Khalil under President Donald Trump’s executive order prohibiting antisemitism on college campuses.
According to Khalil’s lawyer, Amy Greer, arresting ICE officers said his student visa was revoked under Trump’s order.
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When Khalil proved he was not in the country on a student visa but rather as a legal permanent resident, the officers said that was also revoked, Greer said. The federal government has now accused Khalil of lying on his green card application, among other charges.
Last week, a federal judge ruled the legal battle over Khalil’s deportation should occur in New Jersey, despite the Trump administration’s attempt to transfer to his state of holding.
“The Court’s jurisdiction is not defeated by the Petitioner having been moved to Louisiana,” the judge wrote.
The ruling allows Khalil’s lawyers to argue for his release before a New Jersey judge, though the decision did not guarantee Khalil a transfer from the Louisiana detention center.
NewsNation’s Alicia Nieves, Jeff Arnold and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
