New Jersey
Judge rules Mahmoud Khalil can be deported, but legal battles in NJ and Louisiana remain
Mahmoud Khalil hearing: See video of activity outside
Scenes outside the hearing of detained Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil at U.S. District Court in Newark on Friday, March 28, 2025.
A U.S. immigration judge in Louisiana ruled on Friday that the Trump administration can move forward with efforts to deport former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil.
But the fate of the pro-Palestinian activist remains unclear with legal rounds still to be fought, including in a lawsuit filed by Khalil in New Jersey.
Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Jamee Comans announced the decision in the LaSalle Immigration Court in Jena, Louisiana, according to Reuters. The ruling hands President Donald Trump an early victory in his attempts to crack down on critics of Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
The administration has said protests last spring created a threatening environment for Jewish students on campus while Khalil’s attorneys say his actions were protected by the U.S. Constitution’s free-speech guarantees.
Khalil, 30, was arrested March 8 in the lobby of his student apartment building in New York City. The Syrian-born Palestinian, a legal U.S. resident, has not been accused of any crime, but the Trump administration has moved to deport him, arguing his presence has “adverse foreign policy consequences” for the United States.
Khalil is being held at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Facility in Jena. But he also has a suit pending in federal court in New Jersey, where he was held for a few hours at an immigrant detention center in Elizabeth before being transferred south.
The American Civil Liberties Union, one of the legal groups representing Khalil, said in a statement after the hearing that the judge’s decision appeared to be “pre-written.” The judge gave Khalil’s attorneys until April 23 to seek a waiver to stop his deportation.
Khalil addressed Judge Comans at the end of the hearing, saying “I would like to quote what you said last time that there’s nothing that’s more important to this court than due process rights and fundamental fairness,” according to an ACLU statement. “Clearly what we witnessed today, neither of these principles were present today or in this whole process.
“This is exactly why the Trump administration has sent me to this court, 1,000 miles away from my family. I just hope that the urgency that you deemed fit for me are afforded to the hundreds of others who have been here without hearing for months.”
His lawsuit argues the detention violates his rights to free speech and due process, and that his case should be heard in the Garden State. The government tried to get the case moved to Louisiana, where it would be heard by a more conservative judiciary, but a federal court rejected that bid.
The Trump administration has argued it has the right to remove noncitizens under the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act. Secretary of State Marco Rubio alleged in a recent letter that Khalil participated in “antisemitic protests and disruptive activities” at Columbia that “undermine U.S. efforts to combat antisemitism.”
The administration has sought to remove other critics of Israel’s fight against the terrorist organization Hamas. Khalil had served as a spokesman for protesters on the Columbia campus opposed to Israel’s military operations in Gaza, which were a response to the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack in which more than 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage. Protesters have been outraged that the response left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and wounded.
Khalil’s lawyers say their client was engaging in constitutionally protected activity.
This story includes information from Reuters.
Ricardo Kaulessar covers race, immigration, and culture for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: kaulessar@northjersey.com
Twitter/X: @ricardokaul
The forecast calls for widespread rain for most of New Jersey this Wednesday, April 29 and Thursday, April 30.
A cold front will approach the region and will bring some showers with it, according to the National Weather Service.
Up to an inch of rain is expected in most of the state. Some areas might get 1.5 inches of rain. Dry air in North East New Jersey is expected to prevent precipitation in Passaic, Bergen, Hudson, Essex and Union counties.
The Jersey Shore might get thunderstorms after 8 p.m. Wednesday which might increase rainfall totals. Rain should taper off Thursday afternoon.
Here’s what the National Weather Service predicts for the next several days.
Sussex County weather forecast
Wednesday– A chance of showers, mainly after 5 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 64. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Wednesday Night– Showers and thunderstorms likely before 8 p.m., then showers and possibly a thunderstorm between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m., then showers likely after that. Low around 44. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
Thursday– Showers likely, mainly before 8 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 60. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Thursday Night– Mostly clear, with a low around 37.
Asbury Park weather forecast
Wednesday– Partly sunny, with a high near 54.
Wednesday night– A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 8 p.m. Low around 49. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Thursday– A chance of showers before 2 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 58. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Thursday night– Mostly clear, with a low around 46.
Toms River weather forecast
Wednesday– Mostly cloudy, with a high near 61. Light southeast wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night– A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8 p.m., then showers and possibly a thunderstorm between 8 p.m., and 2 a.m., then showers after that. Low around 48. Southeast wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Thursday– A chance of showers before 2 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Thursday night– Mostly clear, with a low around 42.
Juan Carlos Castillo is a New Jersey-based trending reporter for the USA Today network. He covers weather, FIFA World Cup, and national events focusing on how they affect New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Every now and then on The Judi and EJ Show a topic comes up that reminds you why radio is still the best medium on earth.
Ice cream will do that.
It started a couple of weeks ago when we spent an hour on products that nobody makes anymore — the ones you miss so much that you find yourself doing late night internet searches hoping to find a closeout website or a forgotten store somewhere that still has a few left. Kyle Forcini — our on-air partner and producer — brought up Turkey Hill Graham Slam Ice Cream. A Turkey Hill partnership with the Phillies a few years back that landed at Acme Markets across New Jersey. Then the partnership ended. And the Graham Slam disappeared.
Kyle had not had it in almost a decade.
I had some extra time that day. So I drove over to Pennsylvania, found a Giant grocery store — the only place the research said still carried it — and came back with a carton of Kyle’s all-time favorite ice cream.
I texted him when I got it. His response was one word.
WOW.
Later that day he sent me a photo of himself eating it. That made my whole day. Sometimes the smallest gestures land the hardest.
So today I went back to that same Pennsylvania Giant store to get him another carton.
Turkey Hill Graham Slam sold out in PA | photo by EJ
Sold out!
Turns out Kyle is not the only one who remembers Graham Slam. That ice cream has a following — and right now they are all showing up at the same Giant store in Pennsylvania.
The phones lit up
We opened up the lines today and asked listeners to share their favorite New Jersey ice cream shops. The response was immediate and enthusiastic — which should surprise nobody because New Jersey takes its ice cream seriously.
Brenden from Delran pointed us to the Ice Cream Bar in Delanco, Burlington County. John in Helmetta had strong feelings about Causeway Ice Cream in South River, Middlesex County — his order is always soft serve with sprinkles. Christine over in Bensalem called in to represent Ice Cream on 9 in Howell, Monmouth County and specifically said get the pistachio. Dot in Nutley told us about Graham Central Station — found at Applegate Farm in Upper Montclair, Essex County. Fitting that a Graham-related ice cream came up given where the whole conversation started.
But the place that generated the most conversation was Halo Farm on Spruce Street in Lawrence Township — right around the corner from the station. There was some friendly confusion between Halo Farm and Halo Pubs until Susan from Trenton set everyone straight. Halo Farm is a longtime Mercer County institution — a micro-dairy that processes its own milk on site and produces dozens of super-premium flavors from simple ingredients. Founded in the 1970s. Old school dairy store feel — milk, juices, baked goods and ice cream all under one roof. The related Halo Pub locations throughout Mercer County serve the same ice cream in a more traditional scoop shop setting. If you are anywhere near Trenton and have not been, go.
SEE ALSO: Mr. Softee New Jersey history and the song you can’t forget
Mr. Softee stopped by my nieces wedding a few weeks ago | photo by EJ
Three on my personal list this season
There are countless great ice cream shops across New Jersey — more than any single article could cover. But here are three that are on the personal radar for the season ahead.
Thomas Sweet in Princeton — a legendary Princeton institution that has been scooping since 1979. On the list and long overdue for a visit.
Evergreen Dairy Bar on Route 70 in Southampton — right on the edge of the Pine Barrens in Burlington County. A regular stop on Pine Barrens day trips and one of those places that feels like it belongs exactly where it is. Old school roadside dairy bar, the kind that reminds you what summer in South Jersey is supposed to taste like. Learn more about Evergreen in the gallery below.
Jersey Freeze in Freehold — a Monmouth County institution and a name that comes up every time this conversation happens in New Jersey. Our thanks to Matt and Katie there who recently sent a box of creamy treats over to the NJ 101.5 crew through Kylie Moore. Jersey Freeze has clearly earned its reputation.
One more stop to add
Just up Route 31 in Pennington sits the Cream King. Drove past it back in January when New Jersey was locked in a deep freeze — the parking lot buried in snow, the picnic tables stacked and covered, the place completely shut down and surrounded by the kind of cold that makes an ice cream stand look almost poetic.
Well. Spring is here. The only freezing happening at Cream King now is inside their freezers. And soon enough — melting in our bellies.
Kyle — consider this your advance notice. We are going.
Awesome one-of-a-kind old school eatery in South Jersey
Gallery Credit: Dennis Malloy
Two private contractors have been hospitalized following, what police called, an “advanced life support emergency,” after they were likely electrocuted while working at a property in Ocean City, New Jersey early Monday.
According to police, the incident happened at about 8:57 a.m., when first responders were called to a property along the 100 block of Somerset Lane in Ocean City, New Jersey, after two men were possibly electrocuted.
Officials said the incident happened when one of the workers contacted electrical supply lines with a metal ladder while working on the exterior of a property.
The initial worker was injured when they were likely electrocuted and fell from a ladder police said.
A second worker was likely electrocuted as well when, officials said, they grabbed the ladder in an effort to help the first worker.
Police said fire department personnel at the scene administered trauma assessment and initial treatment while paramedics administered advanced life support care for the pair of workers before they were taken to a nearby hospital by helicopter.
Officials did not immediately provide information on the victims’ conditions upon being admitted to the hospital.
An investigation into this incident, officials said, remains ongoing.
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