Ordinance of the judge Liberation of the anti-Israeli activist Khalil in the midst of the immigration case
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On Friday, a federal judge ordered the release of anti-Israeli activist Mahmoud Khalil while his immigration and civil affairs continue in court, citing the “extraordinary circumstances” of his case.
Justice Michael Farbiarz, a named Biden, evaluated during an audience in New Jersey that Khalil was not a risk of theft or a danger to the community and that his detention was therefore “very unusual”.
Khalil lawyers had declared in a letter to the court that his imprisonment in a detention center for immigration to Jena, Louisiana, was an “extremely rare” decision on the part of the government and was equivalent to unconstitutional reprisals.
Khalil, a legal permanent resident, was detained for three months after his arrest in March in his apartment at Columbia University. He has an American citizen woman who lives in New York, and the couple has a baby, who was born when he was behind bars. His release could occur on Friday.
The Doj seeks to keep the anti-Israeli activist Khalil detained in the immigration prison in Louisiana
The student of the University of Columbia, Mahmoud Khalil, speaks to the press during the press briefing organized by pro-Palestinian demonstrators who set up a new campus at the Morningsoid Heights campus of Columbia University on Friday evening, in New York, in the United States on June 01, 2024. (Getty Images)
After Khalil’s arrest, an immigration judge noted that he was removable on the basis of a service note from the Secretary of State Marco Rubio who said that Khalil’s activism on the campus disagreed with the interests of American foreign policies.
Rubio cited an obscure provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act to justify his conclusion, and Farbiarz then enjoined the secretary to use this determination to expel Khalil.
Hundreds of anti-glossy demonstrators gathered outside the USCIS San Francisco field office on Sansome street and walked in the streets to demand the release of the Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil at Columbia University on April 14, 2025. (Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu via Getty Images)
But the Ministry of Internal Security (DHS) also added a second reason to keep Khalil detained and try to deport it. The DHS said Khalil would have omitted key information from his green card request on the groups with which he was affiliated, in particular the disinvestment of apartheid from Columbia University.
The case of Khalil has become a lightning rod for anti-Israeli demonstrators and defenders of immigration rights. They argued that the Trump administration retaliated against him for opposing the Israeli government and scary the freedom of expression of those who oppose the offensive of Israel in the Gaza Strip and in conflict with Iran.
The administration replied that in addition to the allegation of a green card request, Khalil violated the Immigration Act by allegedly pointing out the support of the Hamas terrorist group by its activism.
Ivy League Anti-Israel Ringleader Mahmoud Khalil fights deportation to New Jersey Court
The demonstrators meet in Ervan Chew Park in Houston, Texas, on June 8, 2025, for a demonstration against Trump’s immigration policies and mass deportations. (Reginald Mathalone / Nurphoto via Getty Images)
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The lawyers of the Ministry of Justice argued that the Federal Court did not have the power to release Khalil from detention because the second complaint against him concerning his request for a green card was still pending before the immigration court.
“Khalil remains detained because he is currently charged as removable for important facts fraudulently or voluntarily on his adjustment of the request for status,” the lawyers wrote in court documents this week.
Kirill Clark of Fox News contributed to this report.
