One of the most prominent fights over President Trump's immigration policy and the rights of immigrants is playing out in Louisiana. Mahmud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student and a permanent legal resident of the United States is currently being held in a Louisiana ICE detention center.
He was arrested in early March and since then, the Trump administration has been fighting to deport him while his lawyers have been fighting for his release.
Reporter Garrett Hazelwood was in Jena, Louisiana Tuesday to attend a court hearing in Khalil's case and spoke to Bob Pavlovich to share an update.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
BOB PAVLOVICH: Tell us about the case and where it stands.
GARRETT HAZELWOOD: Well, Khalil helped organize and was a prominent voice in the pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University. He originally came to the US on a student visa in 2022, but he obtained a green card in 2024, and he's married to a US citizen who's due to give birth to their child later this month.
Khalil was arrested by ICE on the grounds that he posed a threat to U.S. foreign policy. He was also later accused of failing to disclose previous work on his green card application. The hearing today in immigration court was about whether the government can deport Khalil. His lawyers are also arguing for Khalil's release in a separate case in federal court.
BOB: What happened in the hearing today?
GARRETT: The hearing took place at an immigration court that is inside a privately owned detention center in a remote part of northern Louisiana, about four hours from New Orleans. It was in a windowless room. There was a lot of national media there, and during the hearing, Khalil's lawyers denied all the allegations.
The judge then said that the Trump administration has to file all of its evidence against Khalil, and the judge said she plans to make her decision on whether Khalil can be deported on Friday.
BOB: Garrett, this case has been in the national spotlight and raised serious concerns from civil rights groups. Can you tell us about the wider implications of it?
GARRETT: Yeah, Khalil has no criminal record and has not been charged with any crimes. Members of the Trump administration have said that Khalil was a supporter of Hamas, which the U.S. government designates as a terrorist organization, but they've presented no evidence of that yet, only pointing to his pro-Palestinian activism, and those activities are constitutionally protected.
BOB: Free speech. His lawyers have said, so what happens next?
GARRETT: Well, for the judge to decide that Khalil can be deported, lawyers for the government need to convince her that Khalil intentionally failed to disclose the information on his green card application and that that information might have impacted his chances of receiving.
Receiving permanent legal status. She also could find that he does pose a threat to U.S. foreign policy and order his removal from the U.S. on those grounds, but Khalil could still challenge that decision. And in the meantime, his lawyers in New York continue to fight for his release.
BOB: Did the judge give any sort of timeframe for a decision?
GARRETT: She said she'll be making her decision on Friday.
