A US federal appeals court has declined to reconsider a ruling in Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil’s case that opened the door to the re-arrest and deportation of the pro-Palestinian activist.
The 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals, on a 6-5 vote, rejected Khalil’s request to revisit a ruling a 2-1 panel of the Philadelphia-based court delivered in January that had concluded a lower-court judge had no jurisdiction to order his release from immigration detention last year.
He was among the most prominent of a number of foreign students detained last year by immigration authorities after engaging in pro-Palestinian activism on their college campuses.
Six judges were in the majority, while five judges voted to rehear the case, including US Circuit Judge Cheryl Ann Krause, who said the court’s decision handcuffed the judiciary’s ability to protect the civil liberties of non-citizens like Khalil.
“We cannot fulfill that role if we write ourselves out of relevance and leave the Executive Branch to check itself,” wrote Judge Krause.
Appeal to Supreme Court
