Federal Judge Directs Release of Detained Pro-Palestinian Activist

(MENAFN) A federal judge mandated the Trump administration on Friday to free Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate, from immigration detention on bail.

Khalil, who holds lawful permanent resident status, had been confined for three months in a detention center in Louisiana after being apprehended in March within the lobby of his university-owned apartment in New York City. The administration aimed to deport him due to his involvement in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Notably, he was the sole prominent pro-Palestinian protester in the United States still held in custody.

During a two-hour hearing, Judge Michael Farbiarz of the Federal District Court in Newark remarked that keeping a legal U.S. resident detained—who showed little risk of fleeing and faced no allegations of violence—would be "highly, highly unusual."

He added, "There is at least something to the underlying claim that there is an effort to use the immigration charge here to punish Mr. Khalil," emphasizing, "And of course that would be unconstitutional."

Farbiarz rejected the government’s motion to delay the release order by seven days, which would have granted them additional time to challenge the ruling.

Meanwhile, Magistrate Judge Michael Hammer of New Jersey imposed conditions on Khalil’s release, requiring him to "surrender his passport and any other travel documents to the Government as a precondition of release."

Hammer further restricted Khalil’s movement to specific locations: New York, where he resides; Michigan, home to his family; New Jersey, where Judge Farbiarz presides; Louisiana, the jurisdiction handling his immigration proceedings; and Washington, D.C., for congressional meetings and lobbying activities.

Reacting to the decision, Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, maintained that Judge Farbiarz lacked the authority to order Mr. Khalil’s release.

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