A Manhattan federal judge denied the Trump administration’s motion to dismiss Khalil's challenge to his arrest but allowed the case to move to New Jersey.

The decision offers a venue compromise in the bellwether case, while Khalil's legal team seeks to release him from detention and block his deportation.

A U.S. judge on Wednesday denied a bid by the Trump administration to dismiss detained Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil's challenge to the legality of his arrest by immigration agents over his participation in pro-Palestinian protests but moved the case to New Jersey.

A federal judge in New York denied Wednesday the Trump administration’s request to throw out pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil’s challenge against his detention, also rejecting the government’s effort to move the green card holder’s case to a more conservative court in Louisiana that could have been more willing to side with the Trump administration.