NEW YORK (AP) — A Columbia University student activist who was detained by the U.S. government over his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations has the right to challenge the legality of his detention, but the case should be heard in New Jersey, rather than in New York or Louisiana, a judge ruled Wednesday.

A federal judge in New York ordered the case of Columbia University graduate and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil be transferred from New York to New Jersey where his lawyers will continue their legal efforts for his release.

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered a lawsuit challenging the deportation of former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil to be moved from a district court in New York to New Jersey, where the antiwar activist was first detained after he was arrested by immigration officers earlier this month.