
Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil ordered released by judge
It was an extraordinary turn of events in the case, the first of several in which the Trump Administration sought to detain and deport students and scholars over pro-Palestinian speech or activism. The U.S. maintained that the Secretary of State would order a person's removal if their actions threaten foreign policy interests.
Federal immigration agents arrested Khalil on March 8 in the lobby of his student apartment building in Manhattan as he returned home from dinner with his wife.
A Palestinian born in Syria, Khalil was a student negotiator and spokesperson for protesters at Columbia in the spring of 2024, when protests against war in Gaza gripped college campuses.
In his federal lawsuit pending before a district court in New Jersey, Khalil claimed that his detention violates his constitutional rights of free speech and due process.

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The Guardian
5 hours ago
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The Herald Scotland
5 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil ordered released by judge
It was an extraordinary turn of events in the case, the first of several in which the Trump Administration sought to detain and deport students and scholars over pro-Palestinian speech or activism. The U.S. maintained that the Secretary of State would order a person's removal if their actions threaten foreign policy interests. Federal immigration agents arrested Khalil on March 8 in the lobby of his student apartment building in Manhattan as he returned home from dinner with his wife. A Palestinian born in Syria, Khalil was a student negotiator and spokesperson for protesters at Columbia in the spring of 2024, when protests against war in Gaza gripped college campuses. In his federal lawsuit pending before a district court in New Jersey, Khalil claimed that his detention violates his constitutional rights of free speech and due process.