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.

While Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil remains detained in Louisiana, a federal judge has transferred his case to New Jersey, where he was taken immediately after his arrest.Judge Jesse Furman said his previous order preventing Khalil's deportation remains in effect unless and until a district court judge in New Jersey says otherwise.