Mahmoud Khalil to be Freed Pending Appeal Decision
A federal judge has ruled that the government must release Mahmoud Khalil, the former Columbia University graduate student, whom the Trump administration is trying to deport over his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
But Mr Khalil, a legal U.S. resident, will remain in custody until at least Friday (June 13, 2025) morning while the government decides whether to appeal, U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz said Wednesday (June 11, 2025).
He was detained by federal immigration agents on March 8 in the lobby of his university-owned apartment, the first arrest under President Donald Trump’s crackdown on students who joined campus protests against the war in Gaza.
He was then flown across the country and taken to an immigration detention centre in Jena, Louisiana, thousands of miles from his attorneys and wife, a U.S. citizen who gave birth to their first child while he was in custody.
Mr Khalil’s lawyers challenged the legality of his detention, accusing the Trump administration of trying to crack down on free speech. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he has the power to deport Mr Khalil because his presence in the U.S. could harm foreign policy.
Judge Farbiarz had ruled earlier that expelling Mr Khalil from the U.S. on those grounds was likely unconstitutional.
In his new ruling Wednesday (June 11, 2025), the judge said that Mr Khalil had shown that his continued detention is causing irreparable harm to his career, his family and his free speech rights. Judge Farbiarz gave the government until Friday (June 13, 2025) to appeal the decision. He also required Mr Khalil to post a $1 bond before he is freed.
“The court’s decision is the most significant vindication yet of Mahmoud’s rights,” said Ramzi Kassem, co-director of CLEAR, a legal nonprofit and clinic at the City University of New York that represents Mr Khalil. “But we aren’t out of the woods until Mahmoud is free and back home with his wife and child.”
Lawyers and spokespersons for the Justice Department, which is handling the case, didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
In his ruling, Judge Farbiarz cited Mr Khalil’s statement to the court last week in which he said the revocation of his green card has damaged his career prospects, including a decision by Oxfam International to rescind a job offer to serve as a policy adviser.
