A New Jersey federal judge ruled that anti-Israel ringleader, Mahoud Khalil, can sue the U.S. government as the Trump administration seeks to deport him.

The ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey came after a Louisiana judge ruled that the U.S. government could deport the Ivy League graduate.

Khalil has separate court cases playing out in two states – the Louisiana case is focused on his deportation order and the New Jersey case is focused on his habeas petition challenging the legality of his detention.

Federal authorities attempted to dismiss Khalil’s case, arguing that provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act stripped the court of jurisdiction to review his constitutional claims at this stage. 

Judge Claire C. Cecchi disagreed on Tuesday, ruling that Khalil’s lawsuit must be heard.

A pro-Palestinian demonstrator holds a flag on the rooftop of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in New York, US, on Tuesday, April 30, 2024.  (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem also weighed in on the ruling, saying that the Columbia University graduate “hates America.”

“It is a privilege to be granted a visa or green card to live and study in the United States of America. When you advocate for violence, glorify and support terrorists that relish the killing of Americans, and harass Jews, that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country,” she said. “Good riddance.”

Mahmoud Khalil’s wife Noor Abdalla (C) leaves after a hearing in court in Newark, New Jersey on March 28, 2025. (KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)

A judge in Louisiana has stated that he would be deported to either Syria or Algeria.

Khalil has Algerian citizenship through his mother, but was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria.

Khalil and Abdalla, a U.S. citizen, met in 2016 while volunteering in Lebanon. They married in 2023 and she was eight months pregnant at the time of his arrest.