Judge denies Trump bid to toss Columbia student s challenge to arrest

NEW YORK - A U.S. judge on Wednesday denied a bid by President Donald Trumps administration to dismiss detained Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalils challenge to the legality of his arrest by immigration agents over his participation in pro-Palestinian protests but moved the case to New Jersey.

Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman agreed with the Justice Department that he did not have jurisdiction over the case. Furman ordered the case moved to federal court in the state of New Jersey, where Khalil was held at the time his lawyers first challenged his arrest in New York.

Furman did not rule on Khalils bid to be released on bail from detention.

Neither Khalils lawyers nor the Justice Department immediately responded to requests for comment.

Khalil, 30, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on March 8 outside his university residence in Manhattan. His lawyers have said he was targeted in retaliation for his role advocating for Palestinian rights, meaning the arrest violated free speech protections under the U.S. Constitutions First Amendment.

The case has become a flashpoint for the Republican presidents pledge to deport some non-U.S. citizens who took part in the protests against Israels military campaign in Gaza that swept American college campuses including Columbia after the October 2023 attack against Israelis by Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Trumps administration has said these protests included support for Hamas and antisemitic harassment of Jewish students. Student protest organizers have said criticism of Israel is being wrongly conflated with antisemitism.

Khalil, who is of Palestinian descent, entered the United States on a student visa in 2022, married his American citizen wife in 2023, and secured lawful permanent residency - known as a green card - last year. Khalil became one of the most visible leaders of Columbias pro-Palestinian protest