Newark, New Jersey - A federal court in New Jersey on Tuesday ruled that a lawsuit challenging the detention of Palestinian Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil can move forward despite a government attempt to shut it down.

"This Court concludes that jurisdiction is not stripped over the Petitioner's claims that the Secretary of State's determination and the alleged policy are unconstitutional," Judge Michael Farbiarz of the US District Court for the District of New Jersey wrote in his ruling.

Farbiarz was referring to a provision in the Immigration and Nationality Act which allows the secretary of state to deport noncitizens if their presence is deemed a threat to US foreign policy – the Trump administration's supposed legal justification for targeting international students taking a stand for Palestinian human rights.

In a separate case, an immigration judge in Louisiana earlier this month ruled that Khalil could be deported.

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"If there needs to be fact-finding here, it may potentially be sprawling, and it may potentially involve sensitive evidence, or (renewed) requests to depose senior officials," Farbiarz noted in his decision. "Bottom line: the immigration courts cannot be expected to supply sufficiently substantial fact-finding as to the allegations in this case."

Khalil's legal team celebrated the ruling as a victory in their ongoing fight for his release.

"The court has affirmed that the federal government does not have the unreviewable authority to trample on our fundamental freedoms," Noor Zafar, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants' Rights Project, said in a press release.

She added, "This is a huge step forward for Mahmoud and for the other students and scholars that the Trump administration has unlawfully detained in retaliation for their political speech, and a rebuke of attempts by the executive to use immigration laws to weaken First Amendment protections for political gain."

Khalil, a US green card holder, was arrested by plainclothes federal officers – without a warrant – on March 8 at his New York City apartment building.

The recent Columbia University graduate student had been a prominent member of the Palestine liberation movement on campus.

Khalil's wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, was eight months pregnant with their first child at the time of his arrest. He missed the birth of his son last week as he remains in ICE detention in Louisiana.

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"As I am now caring for our barely week-old son, it is even more urgent that we continue to speak out for Mahmoud’s freedom, and for the freedom of all people being unjustly targeted for advocating against Israel's genocide in Gaza," Abdalla, who is a US citizen, said in a statement after Tuesday's decision.

"I am relieved at the court’s finding that my husband can move forward with his case in federal court. This is an important step towards securing Mahmoud’s freedom. But there is still more work to be done."

"I will continue to strongly advocate for my husband, so he can come home to our family, and feel the pure joy all parents know of holding your first-born child in your arms."