Appeals court reverses ruling that freed Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil

A federal appeals panel on Thursday reversed the lower court decision that had freed Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil from immigration detention, moving the Trump administration one step closer to detaining and potentially deporting the former Columbia University graduate student. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that a federal judge in New Jersey lacked jurisdiction to hear Khalil’s constitutional challenge before his case had fully moved through the immigration court system. The panel left unresolved the central legal question of whether the administration’s use of immigration law to remove Khalil over his campus activism is itself unconstitutional.

Although Khalil faces no immediate re-detention — the American Civil Liberties Union said the order cannot take formal effect while further appeal remains available — the ruling eliminates the federal court protection that had kept him free and concentrates his legal future in the immigration court system, where a separate proceeding has already found he could be deported to Algeria or Syria.

The two-judge majority wrote that federal immigration law is designed to give courts one bite at the constitutional question — but only after the immigration process runs its course. “That scheme ensures that petitioners get just one bite at the apple — not zero or two,” the panel wrote. “But it also means that some petitioners, like Khalil, will have to wait to seek relief for allegedly unlawful government conduct.”

Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, called the ruling “a vindication of the rule of law.” In a statement, she said the department would “work to enforce his lawful removal order” and encouraged Khalil to “self-deport now before he is arrested, deported, and never given a chance to return.” It was not immediately clear whether the government would seek to re-detain Khalil while his legal challenges continue.

Khalil’s response

In a statement distributed by the ACLU, Khalil called the ruling “deeply disappointing.”

“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,” he said. “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.”

Baher Azmy, one of Khalil’s attorneys with the Center for Constitutional Rights, said the decision was “contrary to rulings of other federal courts.” He added: “Our legal options are by no means concluded, and we will fight with every available avenue.”

Background on the case

Khalil, 31, was an outspoken leader of the pro-Palestinian movement at Columbia University before federal agents arrested him in March 2025. He spent three months detained in a Louisiana immigration jail, missing the birth of his first child.

Federal officials accused Khalil of leading activities “aligned to Hamas,” though they have not presented evidence to support the claim and have not accused him of criminal conduct. They also accused him of failing to disclose information on his green card application. The government invoked a seldom-used statute that allows for the expulsion of noncitizens whose beliefs are deemed to pose a threat to U.S. foreign policy interests.

Khalil was born in a refugee camp in Syria to a Palestinian family and maintains Algerian citizenship through a distant relative, according to the Associated Press. His attorneys have said he faces mortal danger if forced to return to either country. Separately, an immigration court appeals board is weighing a prior order that found he could be deported to Algeria or Syria.

In June 2025, a New Jersey federal judge ruled that the government’s justification for deportation would likely be declared unconstitutional and ordered Khalil released. The Trump administration appealed, arguing the matter should be decided first by an immigration court. Thursday’s ruling agreed on jurisdictional grounds — without addressing whether the underlying deportation effort is lawful.

Khalil has described the allegations against him as “baseless and ridiculous,” saying his arrest was “a direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza.”

The dissent

Judge Arianna Freeman, appointed by President Joe Biden, dissented, writing that her colleagues held Khalil to the wrong legal standard. He was, she wrote, raising “now-or-never claims” — constitutional arguments that must be raised while the case is active rather than after the immigration process concludes — and those claims could be handled at the district court level even without a completed immigration proceeding.

The two judges who ruled against Khalil were Republican appointees. President George W. Bush appointed Hardiman to the 3rd Circuit; President Donald Trump appointed Bibas.

The majority rejected Freeman’s concern that their ruling would leave Khalil with no remedy if his detention proved unconstitutional. “But our legal system routinely forces petitioners — even those with meritorious claims — to wait to raise their arguments,” they wrote.

What comes next

Khalil’s attorneys can request that the full 3rd Circuit reconsider the panel’s decision, or they can appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to the Associated Press.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on social media Thursday that Khalil should remain free.

“Last year’s arrest of Mahmoud Khalil was more than just a chilling act of political repression, it was an attack on all of our constitutional rights,” Mamdani wrote on X. “Now, as the crackdown on pro-Palestinian free speech continues, Mahmoud is being threatened with rearrest. Mahmoud is free — and must remain free.”