By Merve Aydogan
HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - A US immigration judge has given the Trump administration just over 24 hours to present evidence that pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil is removable from the country under the allegations against him, according to a report Tuesday.
Khalil, a legal permanent resident and green card holder, was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on March 8 at his Columbia University housing in New York City. He was initially taken to a facility in New Jersey before being transferred to a detention center in Louisiana. He has not been formally charged with a deportable offense.
During a hearing Tuesday, Immigration Judge Jamee Comans ordered lawyers for the Department of Homeland Security to provide Khalil’s legal team with evidence of his removability by Wednesday, according to a report by ABC News.
The report said that Comans scheduled a follow-up hearing for Friday to allow Khalil's attorneys to respond.
It is expected that the judge would then decide whether Khalil should remain in custody or be released.
Khalil was a leader of encampment protests at Columbia last spring and played a key role in the student protests over Israel’s war on Gaza.