No Basis to Detain Columbia Foreign Student Says Federal Judge
By Reuters | 11 Jun, 2025

The detention of pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil can't be justified by foreign policy, ruled District Court Judge Michael Farbiarz.

Mahmoud Khalil speaks to members of media about the Revolt for Rafah encampment at Columbia University during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, in New York City, U.S., June 1, 2024. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo

The Trump administration cannot use U.S. foreign policy interests to justify its detention of Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a judge ruled on Wednesday, but stopped short of ordering Khalil's immediate release.

U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz in Newark, New Jersey, said his ruling would not take effect until Friday at 9:30 EDT (1330 GMT) to give the administration the chance to appeal.

Farbiarz wrote that the administration was violating Khalil's right to free speech by detaining and trying to deport him under a little-used provision of U.S. immigration law granting the U.S. secretary of state the power to seek the deportation of any non-citizen whose presence in the country is deemed adverse to U.S. foreign policy interests.

"The Petitioner’s career and reputation are being damaged and his speech is being chilled," Farbiarz wrote. "This adds up to irreparable harm."

The judge also barred the administration from deporting Khalil on the grounds that his presence was allegedly adverse to U.S. foreign policy.

Neither the State Department nor the Justice Department, which represents the administration in court, immediately responded to requests for comment. Khalil's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Khalil was arrested on March 8 after the State Department revoked his green card. He has since been held in immigration detention in Louisiana.

Khalil was the first known foreign student to be arrested as part of Republican President Donald Trump's bid to deport foreign students who took part in pro-Palestinian protests that swept U.S. college campuses after Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and Israel's subsequent military assault.

The Hamas attack killed 1,195 people, according to Israeli tallies, and Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York;Editing by Bill Berkrot)