Columbia anti-Israel protest ringleader Mahmoud Khalil to remain detained in Louisiana

Mahmoud Khalil, one of the ringleaders of anti-Israel protests at Columbia University last year, will remain in ICE custody for now following a hearing in a Manhattan federal court on Wednesday. 

District Judge Jesse Furman from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York previously ordered that the 30-year-old not be deported while the court considers the legal challenge brought by his lawyers. 

Furman on Wednesday said his order not to deport Khalil was not based on the merits of the case, which has yet to be heard. The judge spoke during a hearing over the scheduling of briefs regarding Khalil’s detention while protesters carrying Palestinian flags and signs gathered outside and demanded his release. 

Khalil is in Louisiana after ICE agents arrested him at his university-owned apartment on the city’s Upper West Side on Saturday. Agents told him they were revoking his green card and student visa, according to Khalil’s attorneys.

ICE AGENTS ARREST ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST WHO LED PROTESTS ON COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY FOR MONTHS 

Lawyers for the federal government argued that the venue for the case be moved from New York City to Louisiana or New Jersey — two locations where he has been held since being detained by ICE over the weekend. 

Brandon Waterman, representing the Justice Department, argued that Khalil was not in New York or New Jersey when the initial motions were filed and New York is not the appropriate venue.

Khalil’s attorney, Ramsi Kassem, said they have not seen the government’s papers, but want the case transferred to New Jersey as that’s where Khalil was when the motion was filed.

ANTISEMITIC RIOT AT COLUMBIA REACHES BOILING POINT AS AGITATORS TAKE OVER ACADEMIC BUILDING, BARRICADE DOORS

Kassem said access to his client is severely limited and are asking for “normal” access to their client as it is inhibiting their ability to work on the case. The judge said he was inclined to provide privileged access to Khalil and granted one privileged call today and one call tomorrow.

Furman, calling the legal issues “important and weighty,” asked the two sides to submit a joint letter on Friday describing when they propose to submit written arguments over the legal issues raised by Khalil’s detention.

Kassem told Furman that Khalil was “identified, targeted and detained” because of his advocacy for Palestinian rights and his protected speech. He said Khalil has no criminal convictions, but “for some reason, is being detained.”

WATCH: Columbia anti-Israel protest leader Mahmoud Khalil faces court hearing on detention

Khalil’s attorneys intend to file an amended petition. They want an expedited schedule to hear the case on the merits and have to file by 9 p.m. Thursday with a response due by noon on Friday.

Khalil, who is a Palestinian raised in Syria and a permanent U.S. resident, is married to an American citizen who is currently eight months pregnant.

The Department of Homeland Security said that it conducted the arrest to protect U.S. national security, and claimed that Khalil “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.”

Khalil played a major role in the protests against Israel which rocked Columbia University last year, and he met with university officials on behalf of Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a group of student groups urging the university to divest from Israel, according to CNN. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the Trump administration’s decision to arrest Khalil and claimed that he distributed pro-Hamas propaganda fliers on campus. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.