A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder and recent Columbia University graduate involved in pro-Palestinian campus protests. The judge ruled that the government’s attempt to justify Khalil’s detention using a controversial determination made under Senator Marco Rubio’s expanded authority was not legally sound. However, the decision does not prevent Khalil from being held on other potential grounds.
Khalil was arrested in Manhattan earlier this year, and after initially citing Rubio’s designation as justification for his detention, the government later added new claims, including alleged omissions on his green card application related to past employment and affiliations. The judge found it unlikely that these omissions, which rarely result in detention for other immigrants, were the true reason for Khalil being held. Instead, he concluded it was more plausible that the Rubio determination was driving the detention.
Still, the ruling was limited in scope. The judge explicitly rejected only the use of Rubio’s authority as a justification, stating that his decision did not affect any other legal grounds the government might pursue for Khalil’s detention or deportation. The order has been paused until Friday morning to give the Trump administration time to file an appeal.
Khalil’s attorney, Baher Azmy, said he believes the court’s ruling means his client should be released by Friday unless an appellate court steps in. “We are relieved that the Court determined that both his detention and his removal based on the ridiculous, overbroad Rubio determination would be unconstitutional,” Azmy said. He also accused the government of retaliating against Khalil for his constitutionally protected speech supporting Palestine, calling the detention “grotesque” and “vindictive.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, responded to the ruling by expressing disappointment and predicted that a higher court would overturn the decision.