Overview
- Justice Department lawyers urged reversal of a New Jersey order that freed Khalil in June and barred his deportation on foreign‑policy grounds.
- Appellate judges questioned the government’s jurisdiction argument after ICE moved Khalil across states within days, raising concerns about a “black hole of no jurisdiction.”
- Khalil remains out on release with eased travel restrictions and says he will continue his advocacy while the court considers the case.
- Separately, an immigration judge in Louisiana ordered removal to Syria or Algeria over alleged omissions on Khalil’s green‑card forms, a decision now on appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
- The administration has relied on a rarely used foreign‑policy removal provision invoked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which civil‑rights lawyers argue is unconstitutional retaliation for protected speech; the Third Circuit issued no ruling after Tuesday’s hearing.