A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that Columbia University graduate and pro-Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil can’t be detained or deported from the United States — for now.
U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, wrote that Khalil had proved the four requirements for a preliminary injunction: That he is likely to succeed on the merits of his claim, he will likely suffer irreparable harm without preliminary relief, he has shown “that the balance of equities tips in his favor” and “that an injunction is in the public interest.”
Farbiarz previously ruled in late May that the rarely cited law Secretary of State Marco Rubio had invoked to justify Khalil’s arrest — part of the Immigration and Nationality Act that allows for people who pose adverse foreign policy consequences to be deportable — was likely unconstitutional.