A U.S. district court judge issued a ruling in response to a recent argument put forth by Trump administration attorneys concerning a significant immigration and national security case. This decision came after a Wednesday hearing where the judge initially directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to release Mahmoud Khalil, an anti-Israel activist, by this morning.

In May, the Trump administration suspended foreign student visas citing national security concerns. This decision followed Democrats’ support of Columbia student agitator and green card holder Mahmoud Khalil, turning him into a cause célèbre, as my colleague Ward Clark reported at that time.

From the beginning, there were indications that the Trump administration might have additional strategies in this case, dating back to March. Bonchie noted that prosecutors might have found a way around a judge appointed by Barack Obama by transferring Khalil from New York to Louisiana, thereby making “Khalil’s deportation… very much back on the table.”

While we don’t have a final answer yet on that question, Friday brought some clarity about whether ICE could keep the man under lock and key. The judge gave Team Trump until 1:30 p.m. Eastern on Friday to respond to Khalil’s attorneys “submitting a filing asking the judge to explicitly order his release.” That isn’t happening, as the judge has agreed with the administration’s new argument on holding him:

The Trump administration argued Friday it could detain Khalil, a green-card holder, under the justification he kept some of his prior work off his application for permanent residency.

…

“Khalil is now detained based on that other charge of removability,” the government argued Friday. “Detaining Khalil based on that other ground of removal is lawful.”

As mentioned earlier, on Wednesday, District Judge Michael Farbiarz ruled that despite Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s argument that the activist poses “a threat to U.S. foreign policy,” he could not be detained. But the judge added that the U.S. could make another argument on detaining Khalil.

And that’s what they did, stating on Friday that “[he] is now detained based on that other charge of removability,” and “[d]etaining Khalil based on that other ground of removal is lawful.”

The judge went with it in Friday’s decision, leaning into what he wrote on Wednesday–that the government can remove the foreign student for allegedly failing to disclose prior activities when submitting his application to remain in the country. 

“To be sure, it might be argued that the Petitioner would be detained anyway,” Judge Farbiarz wrote. “After all, as noted above, the Department of Homeland Security is seeking to remove the Petitioner based not only on the Secretary of State’s determination — but also on a second basis, the Petitioner’s alleged failure to accurately complete his lawful-permanent-resident application.”  

 This is a developing story. RedState will provide more information as updates warrant them.

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