BREAKING: Federal court reverses release of Columbia Gaza activist Mahmoud Khalil

A federal appeals court has overturned a lower court's decision that released Gaza activist Mahmoud Khalil from an immigration jail earlier last year. The step brings the federal government a step closer to deporting the activist.

In a 2-1 decision on Thursday, the appeals court did not rule on the removal of Khalil, but said the lower court that released him from immigration jail did not have jurisdiction in the case. “That scheme ensures that petitioners get just one bite at the apple — not zero or two,” the panel wrote, per the AP. “But it also means that some petitioners, like Khalil, will have to wait to seek relief for allegedly unlawful government conduct.”

Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia who was involved with the Gaza encampment that led to agitators in the encampment occupying Hamilton Hall. Khalil was detained in an immigration jail after being detained on March 8 last year. He spent three months in the jail until a judge in New Jersey ruled that his jailing was unconstitutional and ordered his release.

The Trump administration challenged the ruling as the federal judge was not in an immigration court, which usually decides cases for detention of illegal immigrants in the country as well as deportations. It is not clear if federal law enforcement will not seek to detain Khalil after the order from the lower court was overturned by the panel.

The majority opinion from judges Thomas Hardiman and Stephanos Bibas, both appointed by Republicans, wrote, "Our legal system routinely forces petitioners — even those with meritorious claims — to wait to raise their arguments. To be sure, the immigration judge’s order of removal is not yet final; the Board has not affirmed her ruling and has held the parties’ briefing deadlines in abeyance pending this opinion. But if the Board ultimately affirms, Khalil can get meaningful review.”

The reversal on the order comes as an appeals board in the immigration system is looking at an order that has set Khalil up to be deported from the country. The judge in the immigration case said that he could be deported to Algeria, where he is a citizen, or Syria, where he was born in a refugee camp. His attorneys argue he would be in danger if he returned to either country.