Columbia grad student's detention will stretch on as lawyers spar over Trump's plan to deport him

NEW YORK (AP) — Mahmoud Khalil will remain detained in Louisiana until at least next week but can finally speak to lawyers while they fight the Trump administration’s plans to deport the Columbia University graduate student for his role in campus protests against Israel, a judge decided at a hearing Wednesday.

The brief hearing, which focused on thorny jurisdictional issues, drew hundreds of demonstrators to the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan to denounce the Saturday arrest of Khalil, a permanent U.S. resident who is married to an American citizen.

Khalil, 30, was not brought to the hearing from an immigration detention center in Louisiana, where he has remained after a brief stop at a New Jersey lockup.

After Khalil's Manhattan arrest, Judge Jesse M. Furman ordered Monday that the 30-year-old not be deported while the court considers a legal challenge brought by his lawyers, who want Khalil returned to New York and released under supervision. For now Furman is letting Khalil remain in Louisiana.

During Wednesday's hearing, attorney Brandon Waterman argued for the Justice Department that the venue for the deportation fight should be moved from New York City to Louisiana or New Jersey because those are the locations where Khalil has been held.

One of Khalil’s lawyers, Ramzi Kassem, told the judge that Khalil was “identified, targeted and detained” because of his advocacy for Palestinian rights and his protected speech. He said Khalil has no criminal convictions, but “for some reason, is being detained.”

Kassem also told Furman that Khalil's legal team hasn't been able to have a single attorney-client-protected phone call with him.

Furman ordered that the lawyers be allowed to speak with him by phone at least once on Wednesday and Thursday. Calling the legal issues “important and weighty,” the judge also directed the two sides to submit a joint letter on Friday describing when they propose to submit written arguments over the legal issues raised by Khalil’s detention.

Kassem said Khalil's lawyers would update their lawsuit on Thursday.

Khalil's arrest has sparked protests in New York and other U.S. cities. Actor Susan Sarandon emerged from the courthouse and told reporters that “no matter where you stand on genocide, freedom of speech ... is a right that we all have.” She added: ”And this is a turning point in the history and the freedom of this country.”

Some of Khalil's supporters, many of them wearing a keffiyeh and mask, attended the hearing. Hundreds more demonstrated outside the courthouse, beating drums, waving Palestinian flags and chanting for Khalil’s release. The raucous crowd grew quiet, though, to hear Kassem speak.

“As we tried to make clear in court today, what happened to Mahmoud Khalil is nothing short of extraordinary and shocking and outrageous,” Kassem told the crowd. "It should outrage anybody who believes that speech should be free in the United States of America.”

Kassem said the legal grounds cited by the government to detain Khalil were “vague” and “rarely used,” masking the true intent: "retaliation and punishment for the exercise of free speech.”

Columbia became the center of a U.S. pro-Palestinian protest movement that swept across college campuses nationwide last year and led to more than 2,000 arrests.

Khalil, whose wife is pregnant with their first child, finished his requirements for a Columbia master’s degree in December. Born in Syria, he is a grandson of Palestinians who were forced to leave their homeland, his lawyers said in a legal filing.

President Donald Trump heralded Khalil’s arrest as the first “of many to come,” vowing on social media to deport students he said engage in “pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity.”

His Border czar, Tom Homan, said in Albany during a news conference on sanctuary policies that the administration considers Khalil “a national security threat.”

“Can you stand in a movie theater and yell fire? Can you slander somebody verbally? Free speech has limitations,” he said Wednesday at the conference with Republican state lawmakers.

During a stopover in Ireland while headed from Saudi Arabia to a meeting of the G7 foreign ministers in Canada, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that Khalil's case is “not about free speech.”

"This is about people that don’t have a right to be in the United States to begin with. No one has a right to a student visa. No one has a right to a green card," Rubio said.

Khalil, who acted as a spokesperson for Columbia protesters, hasn't been charged with a crime. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that the administration moved to deport him under a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that gives the secretary of state the power to deport a noncitizen on foreign policy grounds.

Civil rights groups and Khalil’s attorneys say the government is unconstitutionally using its immigration control powers to stop him from speaking out.

U.S. Jewish groups and leaders and organizations have been divided in their response to Khalili’s detention.

Among those welcoming the move was the Anti-Defamation League, which said it hopes it serves as a “deterrent.”

“We appreciate the Trump Administration’s broad, bold set of efforts to counter campus antisemitism — and this action further illustrates that resolve by holding alleged perpetrators responsible for their actions,” the ADL said on social media.

Amy Spitalnick, CEO of Jewish Council for Public Affairs, decried Khalil's detention.

The Trump administration “is exploiting real concerns about antisemitism to undercut democracy: from gutting education funding to deporting students to attacking diversity, equity, & inclusion,” she wrote on Bluesky. “As we’ve repeatedly said: this makes Jews — & so many others — less safe.”

Associated Press reporters Matthew Lee in Shannon, Ireland, David Collins in Albany and David Crary in New York contributed.

Professor of Law and Founding Director of CLEAR at the City University of New York, Ramzi Kassem speaks to the media after attending a hearing in Manhattan federal court addressing the deportation case of Mahmoud Khalil, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Attorney Baher Azmy stands outside the Manhattan federal court after attending the deportation case of Mahmoud Khalil, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Nadia Abu El Haj, an Anthropologist at Barnard College and Columbia University, speaks to the media after attending a hearing in Manhattan federal court addressing the deportation case of Mahmoud Khalil, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Students from Columbia University arrive at the Manhattan federal court prior to the deportation case of Mahmoud Khalil, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Students from Columbia University arrive at the Manhattan federal court prior to the deportation case of Mahmoud Khalil, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

A crowd gathers in Foley Square, outside the Manhattan federal court, in support of Mahmoud Khalil, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

A crowd gathers in Foley Square, outside the Manhattan federal court, in support of Mahmoud Khalil, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

A crowd gathers in Foley Square, outside the Manhattan federal court, in support of Mahmoud Khalil, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

A crowd gathers in Foley Square, outside the Manhattan federal court, in support of Mahmoud Khalil, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Professor of Law and Founding Director of CLEAR at the City University of New York, Ramzi Kassem speaks to the media after attending a hearing in Manhattan federal court addressing the deportation case of Mahmoud Khalil, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

A crowd gathers in Foley Square, outside the Manhattan federal court, in support of Mahmoud Khalil, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

A young orthodox jewish boy waves a Palestinian flag in Foley Square, outside the Manhattan federal court, prior to the deportation case of Mahmoud Khalil, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

A person speaks to the crowd gathered in Foley Square, outside the Manhattan federal court, prior to the deportation case of Mahmoud Khalil, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

A student from Columbia University holds up a keffiyeh as they line up to enter Manhattan federal court to attend the deportation case of Mahmoud Khalil, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

A person waves a Palestinian flag in Foley Square, outside the Manhattan federal court, prior to the deportation case of Mahmoud Khalil, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

A person wearing a watermelon badge on their shoulder in Foley Square, outside the Manhattan federal court, in support of Mahmoud Khalil, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Columbia University associate professor, Joseph Howley speaks to the media after attending a hearing in Manhattan federal court addressing the deportation case of Mahmoud Khalil, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

A people gathered in Foley Square, outside the Manhattan federal court, in support of Mahmoud Khalil, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

A person in Foley Square, outside the Manhattan federal court, in support of Mahmoud Khalil, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

A crowd gathers in Foley Square, outside the Manhattan federal court, in support of Mahmoud Khalil, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Baher Azmy, attorney for Mahmoud Khalil, speaks to members of the media after a hearing in Manhattan federal court addressing Khalil's deportation case, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Susan Sarandon prepares to comment after attending a hearing in Manhattan federal court addressing the deportation case of Mahmoud Khalil, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Protesters march on campus against the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil at UC Berkeley on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in Berkeley, Calif. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Protesters march on campus against the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil at UC Berkeley on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in Berkeley, Calif. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Protesters march on campus against the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil at UC Berkeley on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in Berkeley, Calif. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Protesters hold Palestinian flag during a demonstration outside Manhattan Federal Court in support of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, Monday, March 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Protesters demonstrate in support of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil at Washington Square Park, Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

FILE - Student negotiator Mahmoud Khalil is on the Columbia University campus in New York at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, file)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday fired off another warning to the government of Cuba as the close ally of Venezuela braces for potential widespread unrest after Nicolás Maduro was deposed as Venezuela's leader.

Cuba, a major beneficiary of Venezuelan oil, has now been cut off from those shipments as U.S. forces continue to seize tankers in an effort to control the production, refining and global distribution of the country's oil products.

Trump said on social media that Cuba long lived off Venezuelan oil and money and had offered security in return, “BUT NOT ANYMORE!”

“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO!” Trump said in the post as he spent the weekend at his home in southern Florida. “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” He did not explain what kind of deal.

The Cuban government said 32 of its military personnel were killed during the American operation last weekend that captured Maduro. The personnel from Cuba’s two main security agencies were in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, as part of an agreement between Cuba and Venezuela.

“Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years,” Trump said Sunday. “Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will.”

Trump also responded to another account’s social media post predicting that his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will be president of Cuba: “Sounds good to me!” Trump said.

Trump and top administration officials have taken an increasingly aggressive tone toward Cuba, which had been kept economically afloat by Venezuela. Long before Maduro's capture, severe blackouts were sidelining life in Cuba, where people endured long lines at gas stations and supermarkets amid the island’s worst economic crisis in decades.

Trump has said previously that the Cuban economy, battered by years of a U.S. embargo, would slide further with the ouster of Maduro.

“It’s going down,” Trump said of Cuba. “It’s going down for the count.”

A person watches the oil tanker Ocean Mariner, Monrovia, arrive to the bay in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

President Donald Trump attends a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)