A US district judge ordered pro-Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil to be released Friday from federal custody in Louisiana.
Khalil, a legal permanent resident from Algeria, had been serving three months in jail after his detainment by US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for his efforts in leading pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University. However, he was not charged with a crime; nor was he deported according to the preferences of the US Department of Homeland Security.
Michael Farbiarz, Judge of the US District Court for the District of New Jersey, ruled Friday that Khalil does not pose a threat to the US and deemed his detention by ICE as“highly, highly unusual.”
“There is at least something to the underlying claim that there is an effort to use immigration proceedings here to punish the petitioner here, and of course that would be unconstitutional,” the judge stated.
Last week, Farbiarz called the situation a likely unconstitutional one. Yet, he did not order the student’s release at that time.
According to Politico, the US “government asked Farbiarz to pause the effect of his release order to give it time to appeal the decision, the judge denied that request.” Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin found the ruling “out of control” and exemplary of judicial courts “undermining national security.” McLaughlin expects higher courts to uphold Khalil’s detention.
Upon Farbiarz’s decision, lawyers representing the US government asked to hold Khalil’s green card and require him to report to ICE offices at certain times. These requests were denied however.
The conditions of Khalil’s release allow him to travel to New York and Michigan, both states where he has family in. Moreover, he may go to Washington, DC for lobbying purposes. New Jersey and Louisiana are also states he can travel to in order to attend court proceedings.
Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia, came to prominence for his involvement in the pro-Palestine encampments at the university in 2024, which led to the disruption of university operations during the spring and summer of that year.
