Mahmoud Khalil asked the Supreme Court on Monday to review a ruling that could allow the Trump administration to detain and deport him. His lawyers argue that federal courts must be able to hear claims that immigration detention was imposed to punish constitutionally protected speech.
Khalil, a lawful permanent resident and former Columbia University student, was arrested in March 2025 at his Manhattan university residence. Khalil’s wife and their 1-year-old son are U.S.
The case centers on whether federal courts may intervene while removal proceedings remain in the immigration system. In January, a divided panel of the Third Circuit ruled that federal immigration law required Khalil to pursue his challenge through immigration court before seeking federal-court review.
The Board of Immigration Appeals rejected Khalil’s challenge to his removal order in April. The order would allow his deportation to Algeria or Syria; Khalil is an Algerian citizen who was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria. His separate appeal in the Fifth Circuit challenges the immigration judge’s handling of the case and seeks to end the removal proceedings.
Federal officials have accused Khalil of activities aligned with Hamas and of failing to disclose information on his permanent-resident application, but they have not accused him of a crime or publicly presented evidence of a Hamas connection. The administration has also relied on a rarely used statute allowing removal when a noncitizen’s presence is deemed harmful to U.S.
A lower-court order currently bars Khalil from being detained again or deported. The Supreme Court petition asks the justices to preserve that protection while they consider whether the federal courts can provide a remedy for detention allegedly used to suppress speech. The court has not indicated whether it will hear the case.