A federal judge in New Jersey has ordered the release of Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent figure in last spring’s pro-Palestinian protests on campus.
During a court hearing on June 20, U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz granted Khalil bail, following an earlier decision this month to block his deportation and continued detention.
The judge said he would issue a formal order later in the day directing the Trump administration to release Khalil, while denying the government’s request to stay his decision for seven days, according to reporters in the courtroom.
Khalil, 30, served as a spokesperson for student protesters who opposed Israel’s military campaign in Gaza following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack.
His arrest was carried out under an executive order issued by President Donald Trump that aimed to hold accountable individuals accused of engaging in anti-Semitic or pro-terrorist activities on college campuses.
At the time, Trump said to expect many more arrests and deportations of individuals the president said were sympathetic to the views of terrorists.
“Many are not students, they are paid agitators,” Trump wrote in a post on social media on March 10. “We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country—never to return again.”
Following his arrest, Khalil was transferred to a detention facility in Louisiana. His green card was canceled, and administration officials sought his deportation.
Khalil’s lawyers said his arrest and impending removal from the United States violated his constitutional rights.
The case ended up before Farbiarz, who on June 11 blocked Khalil’s continued detention. However, on June 13, the judge denied Khalil’s request for an order that would have forced the Trump administration to release him immediately, after the Justice Department said it would continue to detain him on separate legal grounds.
However, both the judge and the Justice Department said Khalil could seek relief in the usual administrative system that governs immigration cases, and that he could seek bail.
On June 16, Khalil’s attorneys urged the judge to grant their request for Khalil to be released on bail or be transferred from Jena, Louisiana, to immigration detention in New Jersey, so that he could be closer to his family in New York.
By Tom Ozimek
