Washington DC - Palestinian rights activist and recent Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil on Monday asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on federal courts' jurisdiction to review the legality of immigration detention.

Khalil was freed from ICE detention in June after a US judge in New Jersey found his detention was likely unconstitutional and ordered his release on bail. A Third Circuit Court of Appeals panel overturned the ruling, determining that an immigration court should have adjudicated the case.

In his filing to the Supreme Court, Khalil has asked justices to overturn the Third Circuit decision. He argues that denying federal courts' jurisdiction to review the legality of immigration detention until immigration proceedings have been exhausted would deprive immigrants of the right to habeas corpus and force them to remain in detention for months, if not years.

Khalil was arrested in New York City in March 2025 by plainclothes immigration officials who did not have a warrant. The Columbia University graduate student was transferred to the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center, where he spent more than 100 days behind bars and missed the birth of his first child.

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A prominent member of Columbia's Palestine liberation movement, Khalil was targeted by the Trump administration for deportation due to his activism, but has repeatedly refused to back down.

Khalil has cast his latest legal move as a key part of the fight to protect free speech and habeas corpus rights for all immigrants.

"This case is about whether I, and all immigrants in this country, can actually challenge this administration's unlawful attempts to detain and deport people solely in retaliation for their First Amendment protected speech," Khalil said in a statement.

Khalil has received a final order of removal from a Louisiana immigration judge. He remains free as he appeals the order to the Fifth Circuit.