Judge orders Columbia University protester Mahmoud Khalil freed from detention
Student negotiator Mahmoud Khalil is seen at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the Columbia University campus in New York, April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
NEW YORK — A U.S. federal judge on Friday ordered the U.S. government to free former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil from the immigration detention center where he has been held since early March while the Trump administration sought to deport him over his role in pro-Palestinian protests.
U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz announced the decision from the bench in New Jersey, responding to a request from Khalil's lawyers to free him on bail or, at the very least, move him from a Louisiana jail to New Jersey so he can be closer to his wife and newborn son.
Khalil was the first arrest under U.S. President Donald Trump 's crackdown on students who joined campus protests against Israel's devastating war in Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Khalil must be expelled from the country because his continued presence could harm American foreign policy.
The judge ruled earlier that the government can't continue to hold Khalil on those grounds, but the government argued the legal U.S. resident was instead being held based on allegations that he lied on his green card application. Khalil disputes the accusations that he wasn't forthcoming on the application.
'It is highly, highly unusual to be seeking detention of a petitioner given the factual record of today,' Farbiarz said during the more than hourlong hearing that took place by phone.
In reaching his decision, he said Khalil is likely not a flight risk and 'is not a danger to the community. Period, full stop.'
The judge noted Khalil is married to a U.S. citizen and has a newborn son who is also a U.S. citizen. He said Khalil is now clearly a public figure given his prominence during the campus protests and since his detainment.
Khalil, a legal U.S. resident, was detained on March 8 at his apartment building in Manhattan over his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. His lawyers say the Trump administration is simply trying to crack down on free speech.
Khalil isn't accused of breaking any laws during the protests at Columbia. The international affairs graduate student served as a negotiator and spokesperson for student activists. He wasn't among the demonstrators arrested, but his prominence in news coverage and willingness to speak publicly made him a target of critics.
The Trump administration has argued that noncitizens who participate in such demonstrations should be expelled from the country as it considers their views antisemitic.
The judge noted Khalil has no criminal record and the government has put forward no evidence to suggest he's been involved in violence or property destruction.
Philip Marcelo, The Associated Press
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