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.
Rubio had argued that the law allowed him, as secretary of state, to “personally determine” if Khalil should remain in the U.S. The judge’s order “bars the Respondents from seeking to remove the Petitioner based on the Secretary’s determination” and “from detaining the Petitioner based on the Secretary of State’s determination.”
Khalil, a Columbia University alumnus in the U.S. on a green card, was detained in March for his role in pro-Palestinian protests at the school. After he was arrested in his graduate student university housing, his attorney was told the State Department would be revoking his student visa. Upon learning Khalil was a legal resident with a green card, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent said that would be revoked instead.
The incident became a flash point in the early days of Trump’s second term, as U.S. immigration authorities began to target international students who participated in protests against Israel.
Farbiarz did state in his order that it would be stayed until 9:30 a.m. ET on Friday to allow the administration time to respond.
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Nuha Dolby is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.
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