A federal judge in New Jersey ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration cannot continue detaining Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and pro-Palestinian activist, based solely on Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s determination that Khalil’s presence threatens U.S. foreign policy.
U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, ordered that Khalil must be released unless the government provides an alternate legal basis for his detention — but stayed the order until Monday morning to give the administration time to appeal.
The decision marks a temporary blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to use immigration law to crack down on pro-Palestinian student demonstrators it considers aligned with hostile foreign actors.
Khalil, a Syrian-born green card holder, was the first arrest in the administration’s campus-focused crackdown. Rubio revoked his immigration status in March, alleging Khalil’s activism — including participation in demonstrations where Hamas-linked materials were distributed — undermined U.S. diplomatic interests.
Farbiarz ruled that Rubio’s foreign policy finding, while legally significant, could not by itself justify Khalil’s continued detention without additional grounds. However, the judge did not rule out the government’s reasoning for detaining Khalil on the basis of a separate immigration fraud allegation.
The “holdings set out in the text have no impact on efforts to remove the Petitioner for reasons other than the Secretary of State’s determination,” the judge wrote in a 14-page decision.
According to court filings, the Justice Department claims Khalil did not disclose prior associations when applying for his visa and green card, including his work for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, a body the Biden administration cut ties with in 2024 after Israel provided information that some employees had connections to Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel.
“Regardless of his allegations concerning political speech, Khalil withheld membership in certain organizations,” the government wrote in a March filing. “It is black-letter law that misrepresentations in this context are not protected speech.”
Khalil has been in ICE custody for over four months and missed the birth of his first child while detained. He is currently challenging his removal in federal court, arguing the government’s actions infringe on his First Amendment rights and violated due process.
Government attorneys also say Khalil failed to report his involvement with Columbia’s Apartheid Divest campaign and a former diplomatic role with the British Embassy’s Syria office in Beirut.
TRUMP DOJ MUST DEFEND LEGAL BASIS FOR DEPORTING MAHMOUD KHALIL: JUDGE
Despite the judge’s ruling in Khalil’s favor for now, he will remain in custody at least through the weekend, pending the administration’s likely appeal to a higher court.
The Washington Examiner contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment.