(Al Jazeera Media Network) A federal court in the United States has dismissed an effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to dismiss Palestinian rights activist Mahmoud Khalil’s legal challenge against his detention and deportation.
Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student and legal permanent resident, has been held by the government since March 8 in a push to deport him over his participation in campus protests for Gaza last year.
On Wednesday, Judge Jesse Furman ruled that Khalil’s legal request for a judicial review against his detention, known as a habeas corpus petition, must proceed. The Trump administration had asked the court to reject the challenge.
Furman noted that Khalil is arguing that the effort to deport him violates his rights to free speech and due process, which are guaranteed under the US Constitution.
“These are serious allegations and arguments that, no doubt, warrant careful review by a court of law; the fundamental constitutional principle that all persons in the United States are entitled to due process of law demands no less,” Furman wrote in his ruling.