A federal judge in New Jersey on Friday ordered that Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil must be released from detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement as his immigration proceedings play out.
U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz heard arguments from Khalil’s attorneys, who asked him to free Khalil from detention or transfer him to New Jersey. Farbiarz sided with Khalil’s team and determined that he is not a threat to the community, not a flight risk and that his detention has been “highly unusual.”
Khalil is a green card holder who was detained by immigration agents in March and is currently being held in Louisiana.
After Farbiarz ruled last week that Khalil cannot be detained simply on a declaration from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Department of Homeland Security has kept Khalil detained based on allegations that he omitted details from his green card application.
“It’s overwhelmingly unlikely that a lawful permanent resident would be held on the remaining charge here,” Farbiarz said, adding that “there is an effort to use the immigration charge here to punish the petitioner” for his anti-Israel speech.
“What all of that evidence adds up to is a lack of violence, a lack of property destruction, a lack of anything that would be characterized as inciting violence,” Farbiarz added, saying that he has given government attorneys ample opportunity to address the lack of evidence and that they have provided none.
During the hearing, Khalil’s attorneys said that a Louisiana immigration judge denied a bond hearing for Khalil and has denied asylum in addition to finding him removable on Rubio’s declaration, in contrast with Farbiarz’s order last week.
“There has been a thick record developed here,” Farbiarz said, adding that he will not order electronic monitoring of Khalil.
