Welcome to the News Hour. Today, an immigration judge in Louisiana ruled that the Trump

administration can deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student and legal permanent

resident who was detained last month for his role in campus protests against the war in Gaza.

Judge Jamie Komen said the government met its burden of evidence to support the

determination that Khalil poses adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States

despite not being charged with a crime. Our White House correspondent Laura Barone Lopez has

been covering this and joins me now. So Laura, the judge has decided that Khalil can be

deported. He won't be

immediately deported, though. Explain that and what happens next. So the reason he won't be

immediately deported is because there's two tracks happening at the same exact time. Omna. Right now,

there are the immigration court proceedings in Louisiana, and that's the judge we heard from

today ruling that he can be deported.

And Khalil's lawyers are going to appeal that ruling today in immigration court seeking relief.

Now, at the same time, there is a federal judge in New Jersey that, as early as today, because

there's a hearing occurring today, as early as today,

that federal judge in New Jersey could decide whether Khalil must be released from detention

where he's currently being held in Louisiana. I spoke to Khalil's lawyer, Bahra Azmi,

and he said that the federal court is where that constitutional question is going to be answered

and that they are confident that the

federal judge will not accept the secretary of state Marco Rubio's determination at face value,

and the lawyers essentially hope that Khalil can be released while that constitutional question

about his freedom of speech protections will play out in federal court.

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