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.

Hundreds of demonstrators marched downtown while a spokeswoman for President Trump said the president had the authority to detain Mahmoud Khalil.

The Trump administration is ratcheting up pressure on New York's Columbia University as it seeks to identify participants in pro-Palestinian demonstrations last year for possible deportation after immigration authorities detained a prominent Palestinian activist.