A Columbia University graduate being held at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Louisiana has submitted a plea for his release as a federal judge weighs his decision in the case.
Mahmoud Khalil, who was transferred from his home state of New York 1,400 miles (2,253 kilometers) away to Louisiana, made the official court filing on June 4 after the judge requested his reasons for release.
His court filing was unsealed on Thursday.
“The irreparable harms I have suffered—and continue to suffer … (are the) result of the government’s actions against me,” Khalil wrote.
“These harms are wide-ranging: they include dignitary and reputational harm, personal and familial hardship, including constant fear for personal safety, continued detention, restrictions on my freedom of expression, and severe damage to my professional future,” he continued.
Khalil, 30, is facing deportation after the Trump administration directed ICE to detain him for his pro-Palestinian activism on campus.
Mahmoud Khalil’s lawyers have submitted an expert declaration under seal describing the extreme psychological harm he’s endured from the “shock of unjust arrest and continued detention and family separation,” which they say “will inevitably severely worsen absent release.” pic.twitter.com/BZNZf0ewDk
— Molly Crane-Newman (@molcranenewman) June 5, 2025
He was originally taken into custody on March 8 and transferred to Louisiana without due process of a court hearing or retaining an attorney, and has been held there ever since, missing out on the birth of his child.
“Instead of holding my wife’s hand in the delivery room, I was crouched on a detention center floor, whispering through a crackling phone line as she labored alone,” said Khalil.
“When I heard my son’s first cries, I buried my face in my arms so no one would see me weep.”
Khalil’s filing explains what he describes as the humiliation he has endured since he was arrested.
“I remember seeing the public statements issued by the White House and President Trump on social media,” Khalil wrote.
“It is hard to describe the humiliation and pain of seeing mugshot-style images of myself circulated from the highest levels of the US government—accompanied by inflammatory language, grotesque and false accusations, and open celebration of my deportation.”
“These were not just attacks on my character; they were efforts to erase my humanity,” he said.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Khalil should simply self-deport, referring to the Trump administration’s offer of a $1,000 payment and a free flight to his home country.
Khalil obtained a green card for legal residency in the US, but the Trump administration says it is revoking it as part of the president’s crackdown on students who participated in pro-Palestinian protests.
Last week, a federal judge in New Jersey said the Trump administration’s effort to deport Khalil is likely unconstitutional.
Judge Michael Farbiarz wrote that the government’s primary justification for removing Khalil — that his beliefs may pose a threat to US foreign policy — could open the door to vague and arbitrary enforcement against others.
