After spending 104 days in federal immigration detention, Palestinian activist and former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil was released Friday following a ruling by a U.S. district judge. 

His release came after becoming a prominent figure in the Trump administration’s hardline stance on campus demonstrations.

Khalil was freed from a federal detention center in Louisiana and is expected to return to New York to reunite with his American wife and their newborn son—born during his detention.

Speaking outside the facility, Khalil described the ruling as long overdue: “Justice prevailed, but it’s very long overdue. This shouldn’t have taken three months.”

His arrest on March 8 at his Manhattan residence was tied to his involvement in pro-Palestinian campus protests. The government is now pursuing his deportation, despite no allegations of violence or flight risk.

U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz, who ordered Khalil’s release, emphasized during a phone hearing that continued detention would be “highly, highly unusual,” given Khalil’s legal residency and non-violent record. “Petitioner is not a flight risk, and the evidence presented is that he is not a danger to the community,” the judge stated. “Period, full stop.”

Nonetheless, federal authorities have appealed the release order. The Department of Homeland Security noted that on the same day, an immigration judge at the Louisiana facility denied Khalil bond and ordered his removal. That decision, made by Judge Jamee Comans, has further complicated the case.

A DHS post on social media argued that the authority to determine Khalil’s detention status lies with the immigration judge, not the district court.

Khalil became the first student arrested under President Trump’s directive to clamp down on campus demonstrations against Israel’s military actions in Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has publicly stated that Khalil’s presence in the country poses potential risks to U.S. foreign relations.

Source: Al Jazeera

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