Khalil Asks Supreme Court to Review Detention Ruling

Mahmoud Khalil’s attorneys on October 19 asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a ruling that limits federal district courts’ authority to order his release from immigration detention. The petition challenges a decision by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which reversed a lower-court order freeing Khalil and held that his claims must proceed through the immigration-law review process. The justices have not said whether they will hear the case. A lower-court order barring Khalil’s redetention remains in place while the Supreme Court considers whether to take it, according to reporting on the case. Khalil, a lawful permanent resident and former Columbia University student organizer, was arrested by immigration agents in March 2025 after participating in pro-Palestinian activism. He spent more than three months in detention before a federal judge in New Jersey ordered his release while his immigration proceedings continued. The appeals court overturned that order, reasoning that federal immigration law did not allow a district court to hear Khalil’s challenge through that route. The ruling directed his claims toward the immigration system’s review process rather than a...