Appeals court says district judge overstepped authority by ruling in favor of Mahmoud Khalil

A federal appeals court ruled on Thursday that a federal district court acted improperly in releasing Mahmoud Khalil from immigration detention, finding that the pro-Palestinian activist’s claims should have been handled by an immigration court.

The three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled 2-1 that the Immigration and Nationality Act stripped federal district courts of jurisdiction over claims related to the removal proceedings of a noncitizen. U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, ruled in June that Khalil should be released from immigration detention, but Thursday’s appeals court ruling tosses that order and tells the district judge to dismiss the case.

“Our holdings vindicate essential principles of habeas and immigration law. The scheme Congress enacted