Appeals court reverses ruling that released pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil

NEW YORK -- An appeals court reversed the lower court decision that freed pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil from immigration detention, in a major win for the Trump administration.

Khalil was picked up at his Columbia University housing complex and jailed as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on pro-Palestinian protests. He spent about three months in a Louisiana detention center and missed the birth of his son.

The administration alleges he was one of the main organizers of the Columbia University encampment.

The Third Circuit, sitting in Philadelphia, ruled 2-1 that the federal district court in New Jersey had no jurisdiction to order the release of the Columbia graduate student because immigration challenges are handled differently under the law.

It instructed the lower court to dismiss Khalil's habeas petition, the court filing that secured his release.

The panel wrote that federal immigration laws require deportation challenges be made by filing a petition for review of a final order of removal to a federal appeals court - not a lower-level district court.

"That scheme ensures that petitioners get just one bite at the apple-not zero or two," the panel wrote. "But it also means that some petitioners, like Khalil, will have to wait to seek relief for allegedly unlawful government conduct."

The law bars Khalil "from attacking his detention and removal in a habeas petition," the panel added.

Khalil will almost certainly appeal. And if he fails, this will almost certainly allow ICE to re-detain him and restart the deportation process in immigration court.

Two of the judges are saying Khalil should have exhausted the immigration courts before going to the district courts, which are part of the judicial system.

The other judge ruled Khalil's actions were proper, since the government violated his fundamental rights. That judge believes Khalil proved he was irreparably injured during his detention. That judge was outvoted, 2-1

The majority decided the district court judge, based in Newark, lacked subject-matter jurisdiction. In other words, he did not have oversight over immigration cases.

Khalil's lawyers filed a writ of habeas corpus with the district judge, a common move by immigration attorneys, to seek the prevention of immigration court proceedings and his release.

In a statement, Khalil pledged to fight a "deeply disappointing" ruling from the three-judge panel.

"Today's ruling is deeply disappointing, but it does not break our resolve," Khalil's statement said. "The door may have been opened for potential re-detainment down the line, but it has not closed our commitment to Palestine and to justice and accountability. I will continue to fight, through every legal avenue and with every ounce of determination, until my rights, and the rights of others like me, are fully protected."

His lawyers said they are now considering whether to pursue an appeal to the full circuit, an interim step before a possible push to the U.S. Supreme Court.