NEW YORK — The case involving Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian activist and legal U.S. resident whom the Trump administration is seeking to deport, will remain in New Jersey, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, rejecting the administration’s effort to move it to Louisiana.

A federal judge ruled against the Trump administration‘s request to transfer pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil‘s case to Louisiana, where he is being held. This is the second time a federal judge has rejected the Justice Department’s efforts to litigate Khalil’s case in Louisiana,

Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of the encampment protests at Columbia University last spring, was detained on March 8 at his student apartment building.

Lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia graduate student and pro-Palestinian activist detained by ICE, are fighting to keep his case in N.J.

A federal court in Newark will determine whether the United States can deport Mahmoud Khalil in what could be a landmark case on civil rights.

The Justice Department had moved to dismiss a petition that claims Khalil's detention violates his constitutional rights.

The Columbia University graduate student's lawyers have filed an injunction to have him released from detention

A federal judge ruled that the legal challenge over Palestinian student activist Mahmoud Khalil’s deportation should continue in New Jersey.

The Trump administration has sought to deport Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil for leading the pro-Palestinian protests and sit-ins at the Ivy League institution.