ICE Told To Release Columbia Student Mahmoud Khalil

The Associated Press reports:

A 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 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.

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I am glad that Mahmoud Khalil will be released and finally meet his son, but he never should have been taken in the first place.

Our Constitution guarantees the right to due process to everyone. We will continue fighting to defend that right.https://t.co/AgX9gVU0qS

— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) June 20, 2025

Judge says he will order Columbia University protester Mahmoud Khalil freed from detention https://t.co/yLqjrGoIby

— The Associated Press (@AP) June 20, 2025