Judge says Trump cannot detain Columbia protester Khalil, but delays release order
Dr. Noor Abdalla, wife of Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder who remains in an ICE detention facility in Louisiana after being detained in early March for his involvement in the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, holds up a 'Release Mahmoud Khalil Now' protest sticker while posing for a portrait in New York City, U.S., May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Angelina Katsanis/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: 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
NEW YORK - A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that the Trump administration cannot use U.S. foreign policy interests to justify its detention of Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, but said his order would not take effect until Friday.
Khalil was arrested on March 8 after the State Department revoked his green card 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 noncitizen whose presence in the country is deemed adverse to U.S. foreign policy interests.
He has since been held in immigration detention in Louisiana.
Khalil was the first known foreign student to be arrested as part of 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. REUTERS
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