The case against pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil will remain in New Jersey after a judge denied a government motion to have the case transferred to Louisiana where the Columbia graduate student remains in federal custody since his arrest last month.

Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of the encampment protests at Columbia University last spring, was detained on March 8 at his student apartment building.

A case challenging the Trump administration's effort to deport a student activist will not be moved to a more conservative Louisiana court.