JENA, La. (AP) — Detained Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil appeared briefly Friday in immigration court at a remote Louisiana detention center as his lawyers fight in multiple venues to try to free him.
Khalil, 30, a legal U.S. resident with no criminal record, sat alone next to an empty chair through a brief court session that dealt only with scheduling. His lawyer participated via video.
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The Department of Homeland Security’s ICE detention facility is shown in Jena, La., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith)
The Department of Homeland Security’s ICE detention facility is shown in Jena, La., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith)
The Department of Homeland Security’s ICE detention facility is shown in Jena, La., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith)
The Department of Homeland Security’s ICE detention facility is shown in Jena, La., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith)
FILE - Student negotiator Mahmoud Khalil is on the Columbia University campus in New York at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, file)
Khalil swayed back and forth in his chair as he waited for the proceeding to begin in a windowless courtroom inside an isolated, low-slung Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention complex. Ringed by two rows of tall barbed-wire fences and surrounded by pine forests, the facility is near the small town of Jena, roughly 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of Louisiana's capital, Baton Rouge.
Khalil smiled at two observers as they came into the room, where just 13 people ultimately gathered, including the judge, attorneys and court staff. Two journalists and a total of four other observers attended.
By video, lawyer Marc Van Der Hout said he'd just started representing Khalil and needed more time to speak to him, get records and delve into the case. An immigration judge set a fuller hearing for April 8.
Khalil's lawyers also have gone to federal court to challenge his detention and potential deportation, which looms as his wife, a U.S. citizen, is expecting their first child. A federal judge in New York ruled Wednesday that Khalil can contest the legality of his detention but that the case should be moved to a New Jersey federal court.
The Columbia University graduate student was detained by federal immigration agents on March 8 as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on what he calls antisemitic and “anti-American” campus protests. Khalil served as a spokesperson and negotiator last year for pro-Palestinian demonstrators who opposed Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Protesters, some of them Jewish, say it's not antisemitic or anti-American to criticize Israeli military actions and advocate for Palestinian human rights and territorial claims.
However, some Jewish students have said the demonstrations didn't just criticize Israel's government but launched into rhetoric and behavior that made Jews feel unwelcome or outright unsafe on the Ivy League campus. A Columbia task force on antisemitism found “serious and pervasive” problems at the university.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has asserted that Khalil organized disruptive protests that harassed Jewish students and "distributed pro-Hamas propaganda.” Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza and attacked Israel in October 2023, is designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization.
The U.S. government is seeking to deport Khalil under a rarely used statute that allows for removing noncitizens who pose “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
Khalil, an Algerian citizen who was born in Syria to a Palestinian family, has said in a statement that his detention reflects “anti-Palestinian racism” in the U.S. Before his detention by the government, he said that a Columbia disciplinary investigation was scapegoating him for being an identifiable figure at the protests.
Columbia now is contending with broader pressure to address the Trump administration's assertions of antisemitism, including unprecedented government demands for changes at the private university if it wants to continue receiving federal grants for research and other purposes.
The private university announced Friday that it was taking steps that reflect the government's demands concerning protests, disciplinary procedures, the Middle Eastern studies department and other matters.
Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz in New York contributed to this report.
The Department of Homeland Security’s ICE detention facility is shown in Jena, La., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith)
The Department of Homeland Security’s ICE detention facility is shown in Jena, La., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith)
The Department of Homeland Security’s ICE detention facility is shown in Jena, La., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith)
The Department of Homeland Security’s ICE detention facility is shown in Jena, La., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith)
FILE - Student negotiator Mahmoud Khalil is on the Columbia University campus in New York at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, file)
SHANGHAI (AP) — McLaren’s Oscar Piastri scored his maiden pole position in Formula 1 ahead of Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix by delivering two sizzling laps that were quick enough for the top spot ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell.
The 23-year-old Australian, who is maximizing his weekend with second in Saturday morning’s Sprint race, said he’s “pretty pumped” to go one better Sunday, with the major challenge being tire wear.
Piastri, who will start the 56-lap race two places ahead of McLaren teammate Lando Norris, set it up by putting it all on the line on his final Q3 lap.
“My first lap was honestly better than my second lap, but just at the end of the (back) straight I lost a bit of time and didn’t do the best hairpin," Piastri said.
“On the second lap,” he continued, "I was about two-tenths down on myself. So, I kind of just went ‘why not send it into the hairpin’ and I gained those back, and found a little bit more in the last corner. I was tempted to box before that, so I’m pretty happy now that I didn’t.”
Norris, who won the season opening Australian Grand Prix, will start ahead of his expected title rival, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who was fourth.
Sprint winner Lewis Hamilton starts fifth for Ferrari ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc.
Russell will be on the front row for the 15th time and first since Qatar last year. The British driver was thrilled to split the McLarens given the pace deficit he previously highlighted.
“To be on the front row is a really great place to start,” Russell said.
Russell had also managed to pull out a searing final lap, describing the qualifying session as one of the hardest of his career, given the difficulty in managing the tires.
“The first lap in Q3, I was full-gas. And it seemed OK, I was thinking I was in P5 ... and then found four-tenths on my last lap,” he said.
Norris led the first segments of qualifying (Q1 and Q3) but said he’d done a “terrible job” in the session, having pitted on his final lap following a couple of mistakes.
"Oscar’s shown great pace. I definitely haven’t,” Norris said.
“Whenever we struggle with front (tire) graining, it’s something I just struggle with a lot," he added. "It’s difficult for me, it’s been a therefore difficult weekend, just trying to deal with those things. It’s not something I’m strong enough in.
The 25-year-old Norris said he has “a long night ahead of me” to analyze data “and see where I can improve for tomorrow.”
Racing Bulls, Red Bull’s second team, have again featured in the top 10, with F1 rookie Isack Hadjar — who crashed out of his opening race in Australia on the formation lap — set to start seventh, two places ahead of his experienced teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
Another rookie, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, is eighth for Mercedes.
Williams’ Alex Albon completed the top 10 and teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. will start from 15th.
Piastri’s first pole is also the first for an Australian since countryman Daniel Ricciardo for Red Bull at the 2018 Mexican Grand Prix
“It’s nice to do for myself, but it is also nice to do it for Australia as well," he said.
Sunday’s race starts at 3 p.m. local time (0700 GMT).
AP Formula 1: https://apnews.com/hub/formula-one
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during qualifying session for the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo)
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain steers his car during qualifying session for the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo)
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia is flanked with Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain, left, and McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain, right, after qualifying session for the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia celebrates his pole position after qualifying session for the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain waves to his supporters after qualifying session for the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain poses after qualifying session for the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia steers his car during qualifying session for the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia celebrates his pole position after qualifying session for the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain steers his car during qualifying session for the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain gets pushed back into his garage during qualifying session for the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (Wo Hao/Pool Photo via AP)
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain steers his car during qualifying session for the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (Wo Hao/Pool Photo via AP)
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during qualifying session for the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain steers his car during qualifying session for the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo)
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia steers his car during qualifying session for the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain celebrates after winning the sprint race ahead of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo)
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain is flanked on the podium with McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia, left, and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands after the sprint race ahead of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo)
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car behind Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain during the sprint race ahead of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo)
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain steers his car during the sprint race ahead of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo)
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain celebrates after winning the sprint race ahead of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo)
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during the sprint qualifying at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China, Friday, March 21, 2025, ahead of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix (Sunday). (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Supporters cheer during the sprint race ahead of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (Wu Hao/Pool Photo via AP)
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain steers his car during the sprint qualifying at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China, Friday, March 21, 2025, ahead of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix (Sunday). (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
