A lawyer for the U.S. government on Wednesday said a federal judge in New York does not have jurisdiction to hear a Columbia University student's challenge to his arrest by immigration authorities. The case has become a flashpoint of the Trump administration's pledge to deport pro-Palestinian college activists.

Protests erupted across NYC after Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a key organizer of Columbia University demonstrations, was arrested by ICE. Though a judge blocked Khalil’s deportation order, President Trump promised his arrest was “the first arrest of many to come.