US Judge allows Trump admin. to keep Mahmoud Khalil in custody
3 Min Read
Despite several orders to release pro-Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil, the latest ruling in his case saw a federal judge allow the Trump administration to keep him detained.
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A crowd gathers in Foley Square, outside the Manhattan federal court, in support of Mahmoud Khalil, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York (AP)
A US judge has allowed President Donald Trump's administration to keep activist Mahmoud Khalil, who led pro-Palestinian protests on Columbia University’s campus and has been held in detention for three months pending deportation, in custody.
Khalil’s case has seen multiple legal turns. On Wednesday, US District Judge Michael Farbiarz in New Jersey decreed an injunction that prevents Khalil’s deportation or continued detention based on a determination by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Khalil’s “presence or activities would compromise a compelling US foreign policy interest.”
The judge gave the government a deadline until Friday to release Khalil, but the authorities failed to comply and stated in court documents that they had no intention of doing so.
Ultimately, Fabiarz ruled Friday evening that Khalil could remain in detention because he was being held on a “second charge,” according to the decision.
What is Khalil charged with?
According to US media, Khalil is accused of failing to disclose his employment and his involvement in a campaign to boycott “Israel” in his permanent residency application.
Since his arrest in New York on March 8 over his role as a spokesperson for the campus protest movement opposing the war on Gaza, Khalil has become a symbol of President Trump’s crackdown on a student movement he deems “antisemitic.”
Following his arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Khalil, a Syrian-born recent Columbia graduate of Palestinian descent with permanent residency, was transferred to a detention center in Louisiana, nearly 2,000 km away, pending deportation.
Columbia University community protests Khalil’s detention
The case has triggered outrage at Columbia University, where Khalil had been completing his graduate studies. During recent commencement ceremonies, students interrupted speeches by the university president, Claire Shipman, chanting “free Mahmoud” in protest of his detention.
Noor Abdalla, Khalil's wife, accepted her husband’s diploma on his behalf during an alternative graduation ceremony in New York, holding their infant son in her arms.
It is worth mentioning that the Trump administration has invoked obscure immigration statutes to argue it can detain and deport individuals deemed adverse to US foreign policy, even when those individuals engage in constitutionally protected speech.
