{"id":2538053,"date":"2026-01-15T15:48:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:48:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/third-circuit-greenlights-deportation-of-pro-hamas-activist\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T15:50:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:50:33","slug":"third-circuit-greenlights-deportation-of-pro-hamas-activist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/third-circuit-greenlights-deportation-of-pro-hamas-activist\/","title":{"rendered":"Third Circuit Greenlights Deportation Of Pro-Hamas Activist"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthird-circuit-greenlights-deportation-of-pro-hamas-activist%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2538053&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A federal appeals court has overturned a New Jersey district judge&#8217;s orders that had blocked the deportation and secured the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a Syrian-born green card holder and Columbia University graduate accused of leading activities aligned with Hamas. In a 2-1 decision, a Third Circuit panel (Judges Thomas Hardiman and Stephanos Bibas) held that the Immigration and Nationality Act channels challenges to removal proceedings into a petition for review in the federal courts of appeals, depriving the district court of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/victory-for-social-media-users-everywhere-shapiro-daily-wire-cleared-of-frivolous-charges-over-tweet\/\" title=\"\u2018Victory For Social Media Users Everywhere\u2019: Shapiro, Daily Wire Cleared Of \u2018Frivolous\u2019 Charges Over Tweet\">subject-matter jurisdiction<\/a> over Khalil&#8217;s case. The panel vacated District Judge Michael Farbiarz&#8217;s injunctions and other orders that had intervened in immigration-court proceedings and remanded with instructions to dismiss Khalil&#8217;s habeas petition. Judge Arianna Freeman dissented in part, agreeing that the district court had habeas jurisdiction and would have reached the merits, arguing the INA did not strip the court of subject-matter jurisdiction. The ruling clears the way for immigration removal processes to proceed through the statutory appellate route rather than district-court habeas review.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Mahmoud_Khalil_(2025).jpg\">Office of Representative Jim McGovern\/Wikimedia Commons<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/01\/15\/third-circuit-nukes-biden-judges-blockade-on-deportation-of-pro-hamas-foreign-activist\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Third%20Circuit%20Nukes%20Biden%20Judge%E2%80%99s%20Blockade%20On%20Deportation%20Of%20Pro-Hamas%20Foreign%20Activist&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/01\/15\/third-circuit-nukes-biden-judges-blockade-on-deportation-of-pro-hamas-foreign-activist\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Third%20Circuit%20Nukes%20Biden%20Judge%E2%80%99s%20Blockade%20On%20Deportation%20Of%20Pro-Hamas%20Foreign%20Activist&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/01\/15\/third-circuit-nukes-biden-judges-blockade-on-deportation-of-pro-hamas-foreign-activist\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/01\/15\/third-circuit-nukes-biden-judges-blockade-on-deportation-of-pro-hamas-foreign-activist\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Third%20Circuit%20Nukes%20Biden%20Judge%E2%80%99s%20Blockade%20On%20Deportation%20Of%20Pro-Hamas%20Foreign%20Activist&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/01\/15\/third-circuit-nukes-biden-judges-blockade-on-deportation-of-pro-hamas-foreign-activist\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>In a major win for the Trump administration, a federal appeals court ended a Biden-appointed district judge&rsquo;s blockade on the deportation of a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CU_JewishAlumni\/status\/1952862338077659482?s=20\">pro-Hamas<\/a> foreign activist on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/fingfx.thomsonreuters.com\/gfx\/legaldocs\/klvyjojqopg\/01152026khalil.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2-1 ruling<\/a>, a panel for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals vacated <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.njd.564334\/gov.uscourts.njd.564334.426.0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">orders<\/a> from New Jersey-based District Judge Michael Farbiarz regarding the detainment and attempted deportation of Columbia University graduate <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/mahmoud-khalil\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mahmoud Khalil<\/a>. As law professor Mark Goldfeder previously <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/12\/yes-the-trump-administration-has-the-power-to-deport-mahmoud-khalil\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a> in these pages, Khalil &mdash; a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/10\/trump-admin-to-deport-foreigners-who-come-to-american-universities-and-shill-for-terrorists\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Syrian-born<\/a> green card holder &mdash; was detained by federal authorities last year &ldquo;on the charge that he &lsquo;led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization,&rsquo; and posed a threat to national security and foreign policy.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1389951053\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Farbiarz&rsquo;s orders &ldquo;prevented the government from removing [Khalil] from the country,&rdquo; mandated &ldquo;his release from custody,&rdquo; and &ldquo;intervened in his immigration-court proceedings,&rdquo; according to the circuit court.<\/p>\n<p><strong>[READ:[READ:<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/04\/17\/no-the-first-amendment-doesnt-protect-anti-american-agitation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">No, The First Amendment Doesn&rsquo;t Protect Anti-American Agitation<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In its Thursday decision, the Third Circuit panel found that while Farbiarz did have jurisdiction over Khalil&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/wex\/habeas_corpus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">habeas petition<\/a> (i.e. a legal challenge to one&rsquo;s detention) since he was held by authorities in New Jersey (despite being initially detained in New York), the Biden appointee ultimately lacked &ldquo;subject matter jurisdiction&rdquo; over the case under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-court-places-trumps-bump-stock-ban-on-hold\/\" title=\"... Places Trump\u2019s Bump Stock Ban On Hold\">existing federal law<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>More specifically, the court found that the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) &ldquo;channels &lsquo;[j]udicial review of all questions of law &hellip; arising from any action taken or proceeding brought to remove an alien from the United States&rsquo; into a single petition for review filed with a federal court of appeals,&rdquo; and therefore, &ldquo;strip[s]&rdquo; Farbiarz of jurisdiction over the matter. <\/p>\n<p>In other words, the ruling essentially holds &ldquo;that <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >federal district courts lack power<\/a> over immigration cases,&rdquo; as The Federalist&rsquo;s Senior Legal Correspondent Margot Cleveland put it.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Our holdings vindicate essential principles of habeas and immigration law,&rdquo; the ruling continued. &ldquo;The scheme Congress enacted governing immigration proceedings provides Khalil a meaningful forum in which to raise his claims later on&mdash;in a petition for review of a final order of removal.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The majority was comprised of Judges Thomas Hardiman and Stephanos Bibas, who were appointed by Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump, respectively. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"0FOH9evEnyCu2QbRi\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">2\/2 In short, the Court of Appeals, holds what I&#8217;ve been saying for months, that federal district courts lack power over immigration cases. This holding should short circuit several other cases where district court&#8217;s are meddling in cases where they have no power! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fU72t8HQyt\">pic.twitter.com\/fU72t8HQyt<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ProfMJCleveland\/status\/2011822190719631374?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 15, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Meanwhile, Judge Arianna Freeman dissented from the court&rsquo;s judgment and in part from the majority opinion. While the Biden appointee agreed with the majority that Farbiarz rightly possessed habeas jurisdiction, she disagreed regarding the determination that he lacked subject jurisdiction as well.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;[I]n my view, the District Court also had subject matter jurisdiction. Because no provision of the INA stripped the District Court of that jurisdiction, I would review the merits of the grant of injunctive relief,&rdquo; Freeman wrote. <\/p>\n<p>The Third Circuit&rsquo;s ruling vacates Farbiarz&rsquo;s orders and remands the case back to the district court &ldquo;with instructions to dismiss Khalil&rsquo;s habeas petition.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/3rd-circuit-court-of-appeals\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">3rd circuit court of appeals<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/anti-american\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Anti-American<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/columbia-university\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Columbia University<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/court-ruling\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">court ruling<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/deportations\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Deportations<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/judicial-coup\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">judicial coup<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/lower-courts\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">lower courts<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/mahmoud-khalil\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Mahmoud Khalil<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/pro-hamas\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">pro-Hamas<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Appeals court allows deportation of pro-Hamas activist<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2538054,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Mahmoud-Khalil.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[6184,33810,71046,55979],"class_list":["post-2538053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-deportation","tag-immigration-law","tag-pro-hamas-activist","tag-third-circuit"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Mahmoud-Khalil.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2538053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2538053"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2538053\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2538060,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2538053\/revisions\/2538060"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2538054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2538053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2538053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2538053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}