Four months after a New Jersey federal court ordered pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil released on bail — finding that his detention and attempts to deport him were likely unconstitutional — U.S. lawyers turned to a federal appeals court to overturn the decision.

Government lawyers argued before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals on Oct. 21 that Khalil’s case should have been heard in immigration court in Louisiana, where he was held in custody after he was briefly detained in New Jersey — and where the court is more conservative.

The appeal represents the latest government attempt to re-detain Khalil, who was a lead negotiator for pro-Palestine protesters at Columbia University. His arrest in March was part of a wider crackdown by the Trump administration, which arrested and sou

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