Pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil asked the Supreme Court on Monday to take up his case and overturn a ruling that a federal judge had no power to order his release from jail until he exhausts his options in the immigration system. 

Khalil, a Columbia University graduate who became a focal point in the Trump administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian foreign students, was jailed for months last year and has argued his detention was retaliation for his protected speech. 

The activist, who is a green-card holder, is appealing a lower court's order that a federal judge lacked the authority to weigh in on the lawfulness of a migrant's detention until he exhausts his options in the immigration system, according to The Hill. 

The judge in question ordered Khalil's release after ruling that the provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act that the Trump administration used to arrest and deport the activist was most likely unconstitutional. 

“If the decision stands, the government would be handed a powerful and unprecedented weapon to silence its critics, and to chill the speech of countless others, including citizens, who wish to avoid the government’s wrath against themselves and their loved ones,” Khalil’s lawyers wrote in the petition.

The Supreme Court is expected to consider Khalil's request at a closed-door meeting in the coming months, though Khalil's attorneys are hoping the case will be taken up this term. Khalil will remain free until the justices decide on whether to take the case.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.