Judge says government must release Columbia University protester Mahmoud Khalil
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that the government cannot deport and must release Mahmoud Khalil, the student whom the Trump administration jailed over his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University.
Khalil was detained by federal immigration agents on March 8 in the lobby of his university-owned apartment in New York. He was then flown across the country and taken to an immigration detention center in Jena, Louisiana.
Khalil’s lawyers have challenged the legality of his detention. They say the Trump administration is trying to crack down on free speech. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he has the power to deport Khalil because his presence in the U.S. could harm foreign policy.
U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz had ruled earlier that expelling Khalil from the U.S. on those grounds was likely unconstitutional.
