A pro-Palestine activist and Columbia University graduate student was ordered freed by a judge three months after ICE took him into custody over claims he is a Hamas supporter.
Mahmoud Khalil, 30, must be freed on bail, a New Jersey federal judge ruled on Friday in a major victory for the protestor.
A lawful resident in the US, Khalil was taken into custody on March 8, 2025, as the Trump administration cracked down on pro-Palestine demonstrations on college campuses.
Khalil was one of the primary organizers of protests that took over Columbia as the Israel - Hamas conflict was ignited.
In the ruling Friday, Judge Michael E. Farbiaz that none of the Trump administration's allegations against Khalil justified his continued detention, and sided with Khalil's argument that he was locked up as an unlawful retaliation for his activism.
