Mahmoud Khalil, the anti-Israel activist and Columbia University graduate fighting deportation, is challenging the Trump administration's narrative that he was moved to a Louisiana detention center because of a New Jersey bedbug infestation.
Khalil, who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on March 8 after the State Department revoked his green card, argues in court documents viewed by the New York Post that his transfer to a detention center 1,300 miles away from his home was "predetermined and carried out for improper motives."
In their own filing, federal immigration authorities reportedly claimed that Khalil, 30, could not stay at the Elizabeth Detention Center on a long-term basis "due to a bedbug issue."
He was moved to New Orleans on March 9.
"The entire time I was in Elizabeth, I did not hear anyone mention bedbugs," Khalil countered in his declaration, which was filed Monday, according to the Post.
In court papers, Khalil's lawyers said their client saw people "being admitted for long-term detention" at the Elizabeth site "after being processed in the waiting room where he was held until being transported back through New York City to JFK Airport."
Federal officials reportedly said in their court filing that they also opted to move Khalil to Louisiana because they were aware that other detention centers in the Northeast were already over capacity.
The pro-Palestinian activist filed court documents seeking to be released on March 9, arguing that federal authorities infringed on his free speech rights when they arrested and detained him.
Khalil's wife, Noor Abdalla, a 28-year-old U.S. citizen, is eight months pregnant and his lawyers said he might miss the birth of his child if he is not released.
As he battles the Justice Department in an effort to halt his pending deportation, Khalil filed a motion asking a federal judge in Manhattan to release him on bail.
If nothing else, Khalil reportedly wants to be moved back to a New Jersey immigrant detention centers so he can be closer to his wife and attend court hearings. Being in the Garden State would also make working with his New York lawyers easier, he said.
The government's attorneys argue that Khalil's motion should be tossed or his case should be relocated to a court in New Jersey since he was physically present in the state when he filed his request to be released.