Federal Judge Orders Release of Columbia Student Mahmoud Khalil After Three Months in Detention

 June 21, 2025 – In a major victory for civil liberties and pro-Palestinian advocacy groups, a U.S. federal judge yesterday, Friday, June 20th, ordered the immediate release of Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent Columbia University graduate student and pro-Palestinian activist, after more than three months in immigration detention. His release marks a significant setback for the Trump administration's efforts to detain and potentially deport foreign nationals involved in campus protests.

U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz of Newark, New Jersey, issued the order, stating that Khalil was neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community, and criticized the government's prolonged detention as "highly, highly unusual." The judge also indicated that there was "at least something to the underlying claim that there is an effort to use the immigration charge here to punish the petitioner," which he deemed unconstitutional.

Khalil, a legal permanent resident (green card holder) and a Palestinian who grew up in a Syrian refugee camp, was arrested by immigration agents on March 8, 2025, in the lobby of his university residence in Manhattan. His arrest was widely seen as the first direct action under President Donald Trump's stated policy to deport foreign students and activists involved in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, which the administration has labelled as antisemitic. Khalil has consistently condemned antisemitism and racism.

Initially, the Trump administration, through Secretary of State Marco Rubio, sought to deport Khalil under a rarely used law that allows the removal of non-citizens whose presence is deemed adverse to U.S. foreign policy interests. Judge Farbiarz had previously ruled on June 11 that detaining Khalil solely on this basis was likely an unconstitutional violation of his First Amendment free speech rights.

Following that ruling, the Department of Homeland Security pivoted, arguing that Khalil was being held due to allegations that he withheld information on his green card application. Khalil and his lawyers vehemently deny this claim, stating he answered truthfully, including about an internship with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Judge Farbiarz on Friday dismissed this new justification for continued detention, noting that immigrants are "virtually never" detained on such charges alone.

Khalil had been held at an immigration facility in rural Jena, Louisiana, approximately 1,300 miles from his home in New York. His detention sparked widespread protests and calls for his release, particularly after he was denied the opportunity to be present for the birth of his first child, a son named Deen, in April. His wife, Noor Abdalla, expressed immense relief following the ruling, stating, "After more than three months we can finally breathe a sigh of relief and know that Mahmoud is on his way home to me and Deen, who never should have been separated from his father."

While the federal judge's order secures Khalil's release from detention, the legal battle over his potential deportation is not over. An immigration judge in Louisiana had previously ruled that Khalil could be deported as a national security risk, a decision his legal team is challenging.

Khalil's case has become a focal point in the broader debate over free speech, immigration policy, and campus activism in the United States, especially amidst heightened tensions surrounding the Israel-Gaza conflict. His release follows the recent freedom of other scholars and students, including Mohsen Mahdawi (also from Columbia), Rumeysa Ozturk from Tufts University, and Badar Khan Suri from Georgetown University, who were similarly targeted.