Khalil v. United States of America (Khalil appeal, 3d Cir. 25-2162)
Case Overview
The government appealed Judge Farbiarz's order granting the release of Mahmoud Khalil.
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The Facts
Mahmoud Khalil, a Syrian-born Palestinian LPR, was a lead negotiator for Columbia University's pro-Palestinian protest encampment in spring 2024. ICE detained him in March 2025 at his Columbia apartment after DHS revoked his student visa. The government initiated removal proceedings under Section 237(a)(4)(C) of the INA, which permits deportation of noncitizens the Secretary of State certifies pose foreign policy risks. District Judge Michael Farbiarz (D.N.J.) ordered his release pending proceedings. The government appealed to the Third Circuit.
The Application
The government invoked Section 237(a)(4)(C) to remove Khalil based on assertions that his role as lead organizer of Columbia's pro-Palestinian protest encampment posed foreign policy risks warranting the Secretary of State's removal certification. The Third Circuit's 2-1 ruling bypassed the constitutional questions central to Khalil's case whether removing an LPR for political speech violates First Amendment protections and whether the government's foreign policy determination satisfied the individualized-findings requirement courts have imposed on Section 237(a)(4)(C) instead reversing solely on jurisdictional grounds. By holding that a statutory provision divested the district court of authority over removal proceedings, the panel shifted both the government's foreign policy justification and Khalil's constitutional defenses to the administrative removal process and his pending habeas corpus action.
The Conclusion
**The Third Circuit reversed the district court's release order in a 2-1 ruling, finding the lower court lacked jurisdiction over Khalil's removal proceedings.** The panel held that a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act stripped the district court of authority to intervene. An immigration judge subsequently ruled Khalil can be deported as a national security risk, and the Board of Immigration Appeals issued a final administrative removal order. Khalil remains in the United States while his separate habeas corpus case is pending in the Third Circuit.
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