Trump administration refuses to release Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil, despite judge’s order
Khalil has been in detention since March
Protestors gather to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil in March in New York City. Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images
By Hannah Feuer June 13, 2025
The Trump administration does not plan to release pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, officials wrote in a letter Friday, despite a federal judge’s ruling that Khalil could not be held or removed from the country on the basis that he poses a threat to national security.
Earlier in the week, Judge Michael Farbiarz ruled the government could not deport or detain Khalil based on Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s determination that he poses a threat to U.S. foreign policy interests.
In a Friday letter to Judge Farbiarz from the Department of Justice, the Trump administration argued it was detaining Khalil on “another basis,” though it did not specify what that basis was. In court filings, the Trump administration has argued Khalil left out details on his green card application, including his work for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, known as UNRWA.
A legal permanent U.S. resident and green card holder, Khalil has been detained in Louisiana since federal agents arrested him in March. While detained, he missed the birth of his child and Columbia University’s commencement ceremony, where students chanted “Free Mahmoud!”
At Columbia, Khalil served as a negotiator and spokesperson for students participating in what they dubbed the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment.” Khalil’s lawyers have argued that the Trump administration sought to deport him in retaliation for protected political speech.
Khalil was the first pro-Palestininan student leader to be arrested as part of the Trump administration’s targeting of non-citizens whom the government has argued pose a national security risk by fueling antisemitism.
Last month, Judge Farbiarz ruled the McCarthy-era law that the Trump administration has cited to detain Khalil and other pro-Palestinian students was likely unconstitutional. A rarely used provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 allows the government to deport individuals whom the U.S. Secretary of State “has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
In Friday’s letter, the Trump administration wrote that Khalil may continue to seek release through “appropriate administrative processes,” including through the Department of Homeland Security and a hearing before an immigration judge.
