Columbia University graduate and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, whose arrest in 2025 garnered national headlines, asked the Supreme Court to prevent the Trump administration from re-arresting and deporting him under an existing removal order.
The case asks whether federal district courts can immediately hear claims that a noncitizen was detained in retaliation for protected speech, or whether such claims must wait until the end of the immigration court process, which can take months or years. The outcome could determine how quickly noncitizens can challenge alleged First Amendment violations in immigration detention.
Khalil’s attorneys filed the petition with the nation’s highest court on Oct. 19….