Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil case: Federal judge orders release of pro-Palestinian activist; freed after three months in detention

A federal judge on Friday ordered the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student, from immigration detention after spending more than three months in custody. Khalil was detained in early March as the Trump administration sought to deport him over his alleged involvement in pro-Palestinian protests on campus.The decision was announced by US District Judge Michael Farbiarz in New Jersey, following a request from Khalil's legal team to grant him bail or relocate him from Louisiana to New Jersey to be near his wife and newborn child, according to the Associated Press.Khalil's arrest marked the first under Trump's initiative against students involved in campus protests regarding Israel's military actions in Gaza.

His prominent role in Columbia's pro-Palestinian demonstrations last year led to protests in New York and Washington, DC.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has advocated for Khalil's expulsion, saying Khalil’s activism poses “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.” Judge Farbiarz had previously ruled that the government could not continue detaining Mahmoud Khalil based on his role in pro-Palestinian protests.

However, officials later argued that Khalil, a legal US resident, was being held for allegedly providing false information on his green card application — a claim Khalil firmly denies.Khalil was arrested on March 8 at his Manhattan apartment in connection with his participation in the campus demonstrations.Khalil says he did nothing wrong and did not hide anything on his green card application. He told the court he only did a university-approved internship with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, and was not an officer, as the government claims.Khalil was not arrested during the Columbia protests and has not been accused of any crimes. His public presence at the demonstrations drew attention from critics and the White House, which accused him of “siding with terrorists” without providing evidence.