Lawyers representing the U.S. government and Ramzi Kassem and Brandon Waterman, attorneys representing detained Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil had their first hearing in court Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman.

Khalil's wife, an American citizen, was also featured in court sketches.

Shazza Abboushi Dallal, a staff attorney at CLEAR (Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility) Project and one of Khalil's attorneys, read a statement "on behalf of Khalil's wife, who does not wish to be named."

"My husband was kidnapped from our home and it's shameful that the United States government continues to hold him because he stood for the rights and lives of his people.

"I demand his immediate release and return to our family.

"His disappearance has devastated our lives.

"Every day without him is filled with uncertainty, not just for me but for our entire family and community.
Our loved ones are struggling with the pain and fear of his sudden absence.

"And yet, we are not alone. So many who know and love Mahmoud have come together, refusing to stay silent. Their support is a testament to his character and to the deep injustice of what is being done to him."

The crowd across the street in Foley Square roared and banged drums and cowbells at the end of the statement.

Mahmoud Khalil wasn't in court and didn't appear by video or phone during the highly anticipated hearing in his case seeking to be freed from ICE custody.

The hearing took place in a large, packed ceremonial courtroom inside a Manhattan federal courthouse at 11:30 a.m. and lasted roughly 30 minutes.

Khalil's lawyers said they plan to file an updated version of their petition by Thursday, and the feds said they will file papers by midnight laying out their arguments for why the case should be moved out of New York.

Khalil's side has until midnight Friday to fight the motion for the case to be transferred and the feds can give their final reply by Monday midnight.

Judge Jesse Furman ruled during the hearing -- which was attended by dozens of press, Khalil supporters and others who filled the courtroom to capacity -- the case is so important to the public that he would order it to be unsealed, even though detention cases are not normally publicly accessible.

Furman also ordered Khalil and his attorneys to be allotted one phone call Wednesday and one Thursday to help the lawyers prep for the updated version of his case.

Lawyers for ICE asked Judge Jesse Furman to transfer Mahmoud Khalil's petition to be freed from a New York court to one out of state.

"We are simply suggesting that the Southern District of New York is not the proper forum for this, and it should go either to New Jersey or Louisiana at this time," Brandon Waterman told Furman.

Waterman didn't elaborate on his reasoning for the request to move the case. But the feds will likely lay out their arguments for it in upcoming court filings.

Khalil's lawyers argued it's been impossible so far for them to speak with Khalil since he was transferred to the lockup in the Southern state.

Furman said Khalil and his lawyers could have a phone call today and another one tomorrow.

Ramzi Kassem, an attorney representing Mahmoud Khalil, said after court that his client's arrest was "completely unprecedented."

“He was taken by US government agents in retaliation, essentially, for exercising his First Amendment rights, for speaking up in defense of Palestinians in Gaza and beyond, for being critical of the US government and of the Israeli government," Kassem told reporters outside the Manhattan federal courthouse. "Those are the reasons why he was targeted."

Kassem was given a chance to speak about the merits of the case or to request bail during the brief hearing, but declined.

Mahmoud Khalil's lawyer told a Manhattan federal judge that their legal team hasn't been able to speak with the Columbia University grad since he was transferred to a Louisiana lockup Sunday.

"We have literally not been able to confer with our client once since he was taken off the street of New York and taken 1,000 miles away to Louisiana,“ Khalil's lawyer, Ramzi Kassem, told Judge Jesse Furman.

Khalil, an anti-Israel protester, was arrested in New York by ICE agents over the weekend and first sent to a New Jersey facility before he was moved Sunday to the Pelican State.

"Our contention was that Khalil was taken, targeted and detained based on his advocacy for Palestinian rights," Kassem said.

"Our access to our client is severely limited by the fact that he’s in Louisiana," the lawyer said, noting that access by his wife -- who is eight months pregnant -- has also been curtailed.

Khalil's lawyers -- who filed a petition for him to be freed on Sunday -- said they will update that lawsuit by Thursday but that it's difficult given the distance.

"It's hard for us to continue the work the way we would normally," Kassem said.

Furman said the attorneys should be granted one call with their client Wednesday and again Thursday before they file the updated lawsuit Thursday.

A middle-aged man in a black Roxy Music T-shirt was cuffed and bundled into a police van after allegedly snatching a beanie with the Puerto Rican flag off the head of a lone counter-protester. 

“Throw the book at him for being a f---ing a--hole,” Raul Rivera told The Post. 

Left-wing actress Susan Sarandon arrived at federal court on Wednesday afternoon. Sarandon, 78, said last year she was "blacklisted" for her comments on Jews and Israel after arguing at an anti-Israel rally that Jews “are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country.”

“No matter where you stand on genocide, freedom of speech is a right we all have,” Sarandon told reporters after the hearing.

Trump border czar Tom Homan told reporters Tuesday the administration considers Mahmoud Khalil a "national security threat" and insisted that "free speech has limitations."

The order for ICE agents to arrest Khalil over the weekend came directly from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Homan said during a press conference with New York state Republicans Wednesday.

“When you are on campuses and say, and I hear speech, freedom of speech, freedom of speech," Homan said. "Can you stand in a movie theater and yell 'Fire!'? Free speech has limitations."

"But when you go to college campus, you and say protesting and locking down and taking over buildings and damaging property and handing out leaflets for Hamas, who is a terrorist organization," Homan said.

"Coming to this country either on a visa or becoming a resident alien is a great privilege, but there are rules associated with that," he added.

Dozens of protesters gathered at Foley Square ahead of Mahmoud Khalil’s hearing in federal court.

Elsie Chandler, 82, from West Harlem, was among the protesters. 

“I believe in the importance of the Constitution and I’m not surprised but I am horrified by what the government is doing in this instance," Chandler, a retired defense attorney, told The Post.

“Everybody has the right to criticize the policies of Israel. I don’t think because you criticize the ruling party of Israel, that makes you an antisemite. I think that’s sloppy and stupid thinking."

“The thing that makes this country wonderful is people listening to each other and thinking. If you start to dismantle universities and freedom of thought because you don’t like what people are saying, we’re all in a lot of trouble."