A federal judge on Friday ordered the release of Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil from immigration custody on bail, more than three months after he was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Khalil, a green card holder, was arrested by ICE agents on March 8 at his university apartment and was later transferred to a federal immigration detention facility in Jena, Louisiana.
Despite his legal residency, the White House has been working to deport Khalil over his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the Columbia University campus, accusing him of posing a threat to U.S. foreign policy.
U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz granted Khalil’s motion for bail during a hearing in Newark on June 20, rejecting a government request to stay the order. The court said Khalil may be released once a magistrate judge sets and confirms bail conditions, which will not include electronic monitoring or immediate bond payment.
According to the ruling, a U.S. magistrate judge will set the specific bail terms, including potential travel restrictions and passport surrender.
Khalil’s wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla who gave birth to their son, Deen, in April, said their family can “finally breathe a sigh of relief.”
“We know this ruling does not begin to address the injustices the Trump administration has brought upon our family and so many others the government is trying to silence for speaking out against Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians,” Abdallah said in a statement following the ruling. “But today we are celebrating Mahmoud coming back to New York to be reunited with our little family, and the community that has supported us since the day he was unjustly taken for speaking out for Palestinian freedom.”
In a shift in rationale after initially targeting him over his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, government lawyers told the court last week that they intended to continue holding Khalil in detention based on alleged omissions in his green card application.
According to reports of Friday’s hearing, Judge Farbiarz noted that the government failed to challenge the evidence presented by Khalil’s attorneys showing he posed neither a flight risk nor a threat to public safety when granted bail to the 30-year-old.
Many of his supporters welcomed the decision.
“No one should fear being jailed for speaking out in this country,” said Alina Das, co-director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic at NYU School of Law, who argued before the court Friday. “We are overjoyed that Mr. Khalil will finally be reunited with his family while we continue to fight his case in court.”
The Department of Homeland Security sharply criticized the judge’s decision in a statement posted on X, calling it “yet another example of how out of control members of the judicial branch are undermining national security.”
“An immigration judge, not a district judge, has the authority to decide if Mr. Khalil should be released or detained,” the agency said. “On the same day an immigration judge denied Khalil bond and ordered him removed, one rogue district judge ordered him released. Their conduct not only denies the result of the 2024 election, it also does great harm to our constitutional system by undermining public confidence in the courts.”
The agency added that Khalil’s detention was lawful, saying the Trump administration was acting within its statutory and constitutional authority to detain “any alien who advocates for violence, glorifies and supports terrorists, harasses Jews, and damages property.” DHS said an immigration judge had already upheld those grounds and that it expects a higher court to do the same.
Likewise, a spokesperson for the White House claimed Judge Farbiarz had no basis to order Khalil’s release from the detention facility in rural Louisiana.
“We expect to be vindicated on appeal, and look forward to removing Khalil from the United States,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement, adding that Khalil is “removable twice over” due to the allegations of visa fraud, and for engaging in “conduct detrimental to American foreign policy interests.”
