ICE arrested Mahmoud Khalil without a warrant, court documents show

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents did not have a warrant when they arrested Mahmoud Khalil, according to court documents in which the Trump administration argues the action was legally justified.

Khalil’s attorneys asked an immigration judge in Louisiana, where he has been detained for weeks, to terminate his case since ICE agents arrested him without a warrant.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Khalil, a Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian advocate, was arrested due to “exigent circumstances.”

An attorney for the department argued that when ICE agents went to arrest Khalil in New York in early March, they were able to do so without a warrant because they feared he would “escape” before agents could obtain one.

Khalil’s attorneys argued the administration showed no evidence that he refused to cooperate with agents during his arrest, “and this supposed failure to cooperate justified their warrantless arrest.”

“Attorney argument is not evidence,” Khalil’s team said, noting documentation and witness statements show Khalil “fully complied with the agents arresting him.”

Khalil, a green card holder, has been in detention for nearly two months. He was targeted for his role as a lead negotiator for the pro-Palestinian encampment on Columbia University’s campus last year.

In the court document released Thursday, federal agents argued they were within their rights to detain Khalil because he wasn’t carrying his green card, which is a misdemeanor. According to Khalil’s wife, she went upstairs to their apartment to retrieve his green card for officers and then proceeded to film the arrest.

“Khalil was encountered by ICE officers and identified as a removable alien,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. “When he tried to walk away, he was arrested. An administrative arrest warrant was executed at the time of his booking as is the custom. Khalil is arguing in immigration court that an arrest warrant is necessary prior to the arrest of a removable alien. There is no legal basis for that position.”

Khalil’s case has been widely publicized and viewed as a marker of the Trump administration’s attempts to detain and deport visa holders who protested or acted on behalf of Palestinians.

His attorneys recently requested his detention be temporarily furloughed so he could witness the birth of his first child. That request was denied, and his wife gave birth earlier this week.

Earlier this month, a judge found Khalil is eligible to be removed from the country. His legal team is in the process of appealing the decision and seeking his release in federal court.

Updated at 1 p.m. EST.