Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was released Friday from federal immigration detention after spending 104 days in custody. His release came by order of a judge and follows his rise as a symbol of a crackdown on campus protests under the Trump administration.
Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student, left a detention center in Louisiana. He plans to return to New York to reunite with his U.S. citizen wife and infant son, who was born while he was detained.
Outside the detention facility, Khalil said, “Justice prevailed, but it’s very long overdue. This shouldn’t have taken three months.”
The Trump administration sought to deport Khalil due to his involvement in pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Khalil was first detained on March 8 at his Manhattan apartment.
U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz ruled that it would be “highly, highly unusual” to keep Khalil detained. The judge noted that Khalil is a legal U.S. resident who is not a flight risk and has not been accused of violence.
“Petitioner is not a flight risk, and the evidence shows he is not a danger to the community. Period, full stop,” Judge Farbiarz said.
The judge conducted an hourlong hearing by phone and said the government had not met the standards needed to justify Khalil’s detention.
The Department of Homeland Security said it is appealing the release order. They also noted that an immigration judge had denied Khalil bond and ordered him removed from the country. This decision came from Judge Jamee Comans, who works at the same detention facility.
“An immigration judge, not a district judge, has the authority to decide if Mr. Khalil should be released or detained,” the department said in a post on social media.
Khalil was the first person arrested under the Trump administration’s crackdown on students protesting Israel’s war in Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Khalil should be expelled because his presence could harm American foreign policy.
The government argues that noncitizens who join such protests should be deported, claiming their views are antisemitic. However, protesters and civil rights groups say the administration is mixing up criticism of Israel with antisemitism to silence free speech.
Judge Farbiarz ruled that the government cannot deport Khalil based on the claim that his presence harms foreign policy. But the administration can continue trying to deport him over allegations that Khalil lied on his green card application, which he denies.
Khalil was not accused of breaking any laws during the Columbia protests. He acted as a negotiator and spokesperson for students but was never arrested. His public role made him a target for critics.
The judge agreed with Khalil’s lawyers that the protester’s free speech and legal rights were being blocked without a clear reason. Farbiarz also pointed out that Khalil is now a public figure.
Khalil said no one should be detained for protesting Israel’s war in Gaza. He described his time in the detention center in Louisiana as a harsh reality check about the U.S., a country that claims to stand for human rights and justice.
“Being a citizen, immigrant, or just a person here does not make you less human,” Khalil said. He added that “justice will win, no matter what this administration tries to say about immigrants.”
Khalil had to give up his passport and cannot travel abroad. However, he will get his green card back and receive documents allowing limited travel inside the U.S., including visits to New York, Michigan, New Jersey, Louisiana, and Washington for court and lobbying.
After the judge’s decision, Khalil’s wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, said she could finally “breathe a sigh of relief” after the long detention.
“We know this ruling does not fix the injustices our family and others faced,” she said. “But today we celebrate Mahmoud coming home to New York to be with our little family.”
Other scholars who faced similar detentions for activism have also been released recently. These include former Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi, Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk, and Georgetown scholar Badar Khan Suri.
The judge’s words underlined that Khalil is neither a flight risk nor a danger, emphasizing the lack of reason for his detention.
