World News | Judge Says Government Must Release Columbia University Protester Mahmoud Khalil
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. A federal judge has ruled that the government cannot deport and must release Mahmoud Khalil, the student whom the Trump administration jailed over his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University.
Newark (New Jersey), Jun 11 (AP) A federal judge has ruled that the government cannot deport and must release Mahmoud Khalil, the student whom the Trump administration jailed over his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University.
Khalil was detained by federal immigration agents on March 8 in the lobby of his university-owned apartment in New York. He was then flown across the country and taken to an immigration detention centre in Jena, Louisiana.
Khalil's lawyers have challenged the legality of his detention. They say the Trump administration is trying to crack down on free speech. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he has the power to deport Khalil because his presence in the US could harm foreign policy.
US District Judge Michael Farbiarz had ruled earlier that expelling Khalil from the US on those grounds was likely unconstitutional.
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In a new ruling on Wednesday, the judge said that Khalil had shown that his continued detention is causing irreparable harm to his career, his family and his free speech rights.
Farbiarz gave the government until Friday to appeal the decision. He also required Khalil to post a USD 1 bond. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)