Mahmoud Khalil Urges Court to Allow Public and Press Access to Immigration Proceedings

In New Filings, Mr. Khalil’s Legal Team Also Asks for Access to Electronics, After Court Only Allowed Government Lawyers to Have Laptops in 4/11 Hearing

Attorneys for Mahmoud Khalil, a U.S. green card holder who has been detained for almost two months after speaking out in support of Palestinian freedom, filed two motions early this morning seeking to ensure fairness and transparency at his upcoming immigration hearings. The two motions demand the court address serious due process violations that marred his last hearing and ensure the public’s right to access future proceedings.

At Mr. Khalil’s April 11 hearing, despite federal policy guaranteeing lawyers the right to use electronic devices during immigration court proceedings, his in-person counsel was abruptly barred from bringing laptops or phones into the courtroom — while Department of Homeland Security attorneys were allowed to use theirs. Even after Nora Ahmed of the ACLU of Louisiana confirmed her right to bring electronics with facility officials before the hearing, she was forced to surrender all devices moments before court began. She was also denied the chance to raise the issue with the facility administrator or to challenge the decision on the record. As the motion explains, “the denial implicates issues of fundamental fairness in these proceedings and was particularly troubling because it occurred at a hearing of such enormous consequence for Mr. Khalil.”

In a separate filing, Mr. Khalil’s legal team also urged the court to expand public access to future hearings. During previous hearings, hundreds of members of the public attempted to observe remotely but were shut out — 550 individuals were denied access to a Webex link on April 8 alone. No overflow room was provided, and no accommodation was made for those turned away, despite widespread public interest and the First Amendment right to open court proceedings.

The motions filed today seek to correct these violations by ensuring Mr. Khalil’s attorneys can use necessary electronic devices in court, and by expanding access to hearings through Webex, telephonic lines, or an overflow room for members of the public and press.

“What happened to Mahmoud Khalil is not unique — detained immigrants across the country face barriers to a fair hearing every day,” said Nora Ahmed, legal director of the ACLU of Louisiana. “By standing up for Mahmoud’s rights, we’re fighting to make sure that no one else is silenced by arbitrary restrictions or denied the basic tools they need to defend themselves in court. Fairness, transparency, and equal access to justice must be guaranteed for everyone — not just the government.”

These motions come just days after the Trump administration admitted Mr. Khalil was taken without an arrest warrant. In the federal court, Mr. Khalil’s legal team is continuing to seek bail, an order compelling the government to return him to New Jersey, and a preliminary injunction (PI) that would immediately release him from custody and allow him to reunite with his family in New York while his immigration case proceeds. If granted, the PI would also block President Trump’s policy of arresting and detaining noncitizens who have engaged in First Amendment protected activity in support of Palestinian rights.

Mr. Khalil is represented by Dratel & Lewis, the Center for Constitutional Rights, CLEAR, Van Der Hout LLP, Washington Square Legal Services, the American Civil Liberties Union, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), and the ACLU of New Jersey.

The electronic access motion is here. The public/press access motion is here.

This release is available here: https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/mahmoud-khalil-urges-court-to-allow-public-and-press-access-to-immigration-proceedings