NEW YORK: A divided US appeals court on Friday declined to reconsider a ruling in Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil’s case that opened the door to President Donald Trump’s administration rearresting and deporting the pro-Palestinian activist.

The Circuit Court of Appeals on a 6-5 vote rejected Khalil’s request to revisit a ruling a 2-1 panel of the Philadelphia-based court delivered in January that had concluded a lower-court judge had no jurisdiction to order his release from immi­gration detention last year.

He was among the most prominent of a number of foreign students detained last year by immigration authorities after taking part in pro-Palestinian rallies on their college campuses.

Six judges appointed by Republican presidents were in the majority, while five Democratic appointees voted to rehear the case.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2026