Mahmoud Khalil petitions US Supreme Court to review detention case

Attorneys for Mahmoud Khalil have petitioned the US Supreme Court to review his case. This legal move represents the final chapter in a months-long saga. The outcome could determine the ability of foreign citizens to challenge detention by US immigration authorities in federal court.

Khalil is a US permanent resident born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria. He was arrested at his Columbia University housing in March 2025. Authorities detained him for more than three months in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Louisiana. A federal judge in New Jersey later ordered his release.

The government cited an obscure McCarthy-era law to argue that Khalil’s pro-Palestinian expression posed a threat to US foreign policy objectives. Legal arguments have focused on whether district courts possess the authority to order people released from immigration detention while their cases proceed. No court has fully weighed the constitutionality of the law.

A federal appeals court in Pennsylvania reversed the New Jersey judge’s decision in January. An expanded panel upheld that reversal in a split decision. Dissenting judges argued the ruling flouted legal precedent. They stated it imperiled the civil liberties of Khalil and similarly situated noncitizens within the United States.

Khalil stated during a press conference that the fight concerns whether anyone can speak out for Palestinians without punishment. He accused the administration of trying to keep federal courts away from his case. He claimed officials want to channel proceedings into immigration courts where they can control the outcome.

Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, described the situation as terrifying. He warned that the decision allows detention based on arbitrary executive diktats with no recourse. If the Supreme Court declines the case, Khalil could face immediate redetention and deportation from the country.