A federal judge has ordered the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist and legal permanent U.S. resident, from an immigration detention center after more than three months in custody, ruling that his confinement likely violated the Constitution due to retaliation for his political speech.
U.S. District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz said the government failed to prove that Khalil posed a danger or flight risk, casting doubt on the Trump Administration’s rationale for his arrest and prolonged detention. The judge’s decision signals a significant legal setback for the administration’s efforts to remove activists under rarely used immigration powers tied to national security.
Khalil, a former Columbia University student, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at his New York home on March 8. He was the first person to be detained under a provision allowing the Secretary of State to deport non-citizens deemed threats to U.S. foreign policy. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had accused Khalil of creating a “hostile environment for Jewish students” and engaging in “antisemitic protests”—allegations his legal team said were politically motivated distortions of his pro-Palestinian activism.
Judge Farbiarz dismissed the government’s changing justifications for Khalil’s detention, including later claims of paperwork errors in his green card application, which the court deemed insufficient to justify continued incarceration.
The ruling allows Khalil to return to New York, where his wife, Noor Abdalla, recently gave birth to their first child while he remained held at a remote ICE facility in Louisiana. “This is a sigh of relief,” Abdalla said in a statement, “but it does not begin to address the injustices inflicted on our family and others who are being silenced for opposing Israel’s genocide of Palestinians.”
While Khalil will be released, his legal battle is far from over. An immigration judge in Louisiana has already ruled that he can be deported as a national security risk—a decision now under appeal.
Khalil’s case has become a flashpoint in the Trump Administration’s crackdown on perceived anti-Israel activism, especially on U.S. college campuses. Similar cases involving international students and researchers at institutions like Georgetown, Tufts, and Columbia have also led to court-ordered releases, raising broader concerns that immigration law is being used to suppress dissent.
Khalil has publicly condemned antisemitism and advocated for solidarity between Jewish and Palestinian communities. “The liberation of the Palestinian and Jewish people go hand in hand,” he said in a statement cited during court proceedings.
The case is expected to remain a legal and political battleground in the weeks ahead, with civil rights advocates closely monitoring the Administration’s next move.
