by Delaney Nolan, Louisiana Illuminator
May 21, 2025

The federal judge overseeing the case of a Columbia University student activist held at a Louisiana immigration detention center has deferred to the private prison company managing the facility in determining certain rules for her court. 

The questioned standards come into play as Mahmoud Khalil faces his next court hearing Thursday morning at the LaSalle Detention Center in Jena, when his attorneys say they’ll file a motion to throw out the case against him for “egregious government misconduct,” namely that Khalil was arrested without a warrant. They’ll also argue that Khalil is at risk of harm by Israel “anywhere in the world” and thus cannot be removed to Syria or Algeria.

The hearing is the first since one of Khalil’s attorneys, Nora Ahmed with the American Civil Liberties Union, was prevented from bringing her laptop computer into the courtroom on the grounds of the LaSalle Detention Center for an April 11 hearing. Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Jamee Comans said Khalil’s attorneys must abide by policies set by the facility’s operator, the GEO Group. Ahmed was prevented from having her electronics with her, despite attorneys for the federal government being allowed to have their computers.   

Comans’ ruling gives the Trump administration an unfair advantage in the case, Ahmed said in an interview with the Illuminator.

“It facially goes to show how biased the hearing was from the get-go – that this attorney was denied all of the access to electronics that the government” had, Ahmed said. 

Khalil has been held at the Lasalle Detention Center since March 8, when federal authorities took him from his Columbia University apartment building in New York City. Although he’s a legal U.S. resident, ICE officials said they had a warrant to revoke Khalil’s student visa. He’s the first person President Donald Trump sought to deport from the U.S. for his involvement in pro-Palestinian campus protests.

Motion sought formal order

Over two months after being taken into federal custody, Khalil has yet to be charged with a crime. At his April 11 hearing, Comans ruled him deportable in light of a letter from Secretary of State Marco Rubio stating that Khalil’s activities at Columbia could have “adverse foreign policy consequences.” 

According to a motion filed April 28, Ahmed was prevented from bringing her laptop and phone into that hearing, despite DOJ policy explicitly allowing counsel to have electronics. Ahmed said she had already been given permission to take her electronics inside by the ICE facility’s warden, GEO Group employee Shad Rice. GEO Group personnel handle security for the facility, including the secured area between the facility’s entrance and the courtroom doors. 

Unable to bring her computer into the courtroom, Ahmed worked with a notebook and pen instead.

Judge Comans’ refusal to let Ahmed retrieve her computer is in direct violation of the Department of Justice’s policy, according to the April 29 motion. The policy states that attorneys “in proceedings before [Executive Office for Immigration Review] will be permitted to use electronic devices in EOIR courtrooms.”

After the hearing, according to the motion, Rice told Ahmed that “the Judge appeared to contradict herself” by blaming him and the GEO Group for Ahmed not being allowed to bring her laptop into the courtroom.

Jason Burke, administrator for the LaSalle Immigration Court, told the Illuminator that Justice Department rules do indeed allow Ahmed to bring her laptop to court proceedings, “but they got to get to EOIR space first. which we don’t control when we’re in a detention center.” 

The GEO Group declined to answer questions regarding the matter.

In light of the confusion on April 11, the April 28 motion asked the court to ensure that Khalil’s counsel at upcoming hearings could bring their electronics into chambers. 

Comans ruled May 9 that the motion was moot, writing that “should an attorney elect to appear in person, they are subject to the detention facility’s rules.”

Homero López, director of Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy in New Orleans, was startled when he learned of the judge’s order, which he described as “bulls–t.” López previously had a similar issue in 2022 at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in the Acadia Parish town of Basile. It was resolved when ICE Field Office Director Melissa Harper “clarified with Basile management that laptops will be permitted,” per emails López provided to Illuminator.

López said it was particularly surprising to have that issue at the Jena center, where, unlike other Louisiana ICE centers, the detention area and courtroom have separate entrances. 

“I’ve never had to once ask anybody for additional permission to bring electronics into court” at Jena, nor has any other attorney he knows, López said. Comans should have directed ICE to get GEO Group to abide by federal policy – not defer to the company – he added. 

The judge’s failure to do so “is another way to discourage people from taking on cases at that facility,” López said.

Unequal footing for ICE detainees

Khalil’s lawyers argue that the unequal access highlights a lack of transparency around immigration proceedings, and the hurdles the GEO Group and the federal justice present that affect a detainee’s legal proceedings. In a briefing for reporters Wednesday, co-counsel Ramzi Kassem, a law professor at City University of New York, described Comans as “an immigration judge who’s not an independent judge, who’s really a DOJ functionary.”

Khalil’s counsel decried this lack of transparency in a second motion, also filed April 28. The motion requested that, due to enormous public interest in Khalil’s case, Comans allow virtual or telephonic access for her proceedings.

During the April 11 hearing, Ahmed had asked permission to read out a statement about public access – a request Comans refused.

Ahmed’s quashed statement was a plea for Comans to ensure broader access to the hearing, noting that “what transpires today – determining who is allowed to stay on American soil and who must leave it – will have reverberations for years to come. As such, we ask this court to accommodate those intent on observing these proceedings.”

Instead, GEO Group security allowed less than two dozen people to enter the facility, leaving supporters and members of the news media to wait outside, some of whom had traveled from as far as New York. 

Zach Kopkin, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace in New Orleans, was among those denied access. He told Illuminator that it “felt really important that Jewish folks be in that room” and “that we fight back with the truth, which is that a ton of Jews are also critical of the Israeli government’s war crimes and genocide.” 

Comans also called the second motion moot, noting simply that “immigration hearings are generally open to the public, although certain exceptions apply.”  Khalil’s team still has an outstanding request to the judge for an overflow room.

Khalil hopes to hold month-old son

New allegations against the GEO Group of violating federal policy in Khalil’s case were levied Wednesday. The LaSalle facility has refused to allow Khalil to hold his newborn son, who was born while he’s been in federal custody, citing “security concerns.” This comes despite ICE directives and federal policies which explicitly encourage contact between detained parents and children.

Khalil filed a request Wednesday with a federal court to order ICE to allow him a contact visit with his month-old son by the end of the day. The federal court accepted the argument and Khalil’s counsel say they’re working out details of the visit. Khalil’s wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, traveled over 1,000 miles with their child so Khalil could hold him for the first time.  

According to emails within the filing, the GEO Group’s facility administrator said its procedures allow for “non-contact” visits only through a secure window. 

ICE policy notes that contact visits “may be facilitated at all ICE detention facilities.” 

Khalil’s lawyers argue the GEO Group’s refusal of contact is part of the “punitive” nature of his detention and transfer from its New Jersey facility, where family contact visits are provided daily and parents are allowed to hold their children.

Judge Comans will also decide whether Dr. Abdalla is permitted to hold their infant while attending proceedings Thursday.

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.

The post Louisiana immigration judge defers to ICE center operator on court rules appeared first on lailluminator.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

This content exhibits a Center-Left bias as it focuses on issues related to immigrant rights, government accountability, and opposition to the Trump administration’s immigration policies. It highlights concerns about fairness, transparency, and alleged misconduct involving federal authorities and private prison companies, emphasizing civil liberties and legal advocacy. The framing tends to be critical of the government and immigration enforcement, reflecting values commonly associated with progressive or liberal viewpoints while maintaining a fact-based, measured tone.