A case challenging the Trump administration's attempt to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia graduate, will be heard in federal court in New Jersey.

A federal judge has ruled that the legal battle over Mahmoud Khalil's deportation should continue to play out in New Jersey, rejecting the Trump administration's bid to transfer the Columbia University protester's case to Louisiana.

NEW YORK — The case involving Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian activist and legal U.S. resident whom the Trump administration is seeking to deport, will remain in New Jersey, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, rejecting the administration’s effort to move it to Louisiana.