The case against pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil will remain in New Jersey after a judge denied a government motion to have the case transferred to Louisiana where the Columbia graduate student remains in federal custody since his arrest last month.

NEW YORK — The case involving Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian activist and legal U.S. resident whom the Trump administration is seeking to deport, will remain in New Jersey, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, rejecting the administration’s effort to move it to Louisiana.

A Louisiana immigration judge is set to decide Friday whether to release Palestinian activist and Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil one month after he was arrested by federal agents following a deportation order from the Trump administration.

Khalil's attorneys say the government's case against their client largely rests on a memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio alleging Khalil participated in "antisemitic" and "disruptive activities."

The two-page memo, which was obtained by The Associated Press, does not allege any criminal conduct by the student, a legal permanent U.S. resident and graduate student who served as spokesperson for campus activists last year during large demonstrations against Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and the war in Gaza.