A US federal judge on Friday ordered the release of former Columbia University graduate student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who has been detained for three months in a Louisiana immigration facility while the government pursued his deportation.
US District Judge Michael Farbiarz said that “there is at least something” to Khalil’s contention that he is being punished for his activism, which would be “unconstitutional.” Earlier, Farbiarz ruled that Khalil, a legal permanent resident, could not be deported on the government’s determination that his presence is harmful to US foreign policy.
Khalil’s high-profile detention came amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian activists, and he may still be deported on the basis of paperwork errors in his citizenship application.