Mahmoud Khalil deportation case: Federal judge orders release of Palestinian activist; govt given till Friday to appeal

A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that Mahmoud Khalil, a legal US resident and former graduate student at Columbia University, must be released from immigration detention. Khalil was detained in March following his participation in campus pro-Palestinian demonstrations against Israel’s military action in Gaza.Judge Michael Farbiarz said that Khalil’s continued detention is causing him “irreparable harm,” citing damage to his career, personal life and free speech rights. “The Court finds as a matter of fact that the Petitioner’s career and reputation are being damaged and his speech is being chilled — and this adds up to irreparable harm,” the judge wrote in his ruling.Despite the decision, Khalil will remain in custody until at least 9:30 am Friday, allowing the US government time to file an appeal.

He has also been asked to post a $1 bond before being released.Arrest and detentionKhalil was arrested on March 8 in the lobby of his university-owned residence. He was the first person to be detained under a Trump administration crackdown targeting international students involved in Gaza protests. Khalil is married to a US citizen and recently became a father.After his arrest, Khalil was moved across the country to a detention facility in Jena, Louisiana, far from his lawyers and family.

His legal team, led by the City University of New York’s CLEAR project, challenged the detention as unconstitutional.“The court’s decision is the most significant vindication yet of Mahmoud’s rights,” said Ramzi Kassem, co-director of CLEAR. “But we aren’t out of the woods until Mahmoud is free and back home with his wife and child," they added.Legal argumentsJudge Farbiarz previously said that efforts to expel Khalil based on foreign policy concerns were “likely unconstitutional.”

The government has argued that Khalil’s presence could harm US foreign policy. US secretary of state Marco Rubio invoked that statute to justify the deportation, saying Khalil’s activism poses “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”Khalil says he did nothing wrong and did not hide anything on his green card application. He told the court he only did a university-approved internship with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, and was not an officer, as the government claims.In court filings, Khalil said the government’s actions had already affected his career, with Oxfam International withdrawing a job offer due to the controversy. He also said the experience had discouraged him from engaging in future activism.No criminal charges, growing list of released activistsKhalil was not arrested during the Columbia protests and has not been accused of any crimes. His public presence at the demonstrations drew attention from critics and the White House, which accused him of “siding with terrorists” without providing evidence.He had served as a negotiator and spokesperson for student protesters who camped on campus. Columbia University later called in police to clear the encampment after a building was occupied, though Khalil was not involved in that action.Other legal residents detained for similar activism have recently been released, including students from Tufts, Georgetown and a Palestinian student from Columbia.