Trump cannot detain Columbia protester Khalil - federal judge

A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that the Trump administration cannot use U.S. foreign policy interests to justify its detention of Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, but said his order would not take effect until Friday.

Khalil was arrested on March 8 after the State Department revoked his green card under a little-used provision of U.S. immigration law granting the U.S. secretary of state the power to seek the deportation of any noncitizen whose presence in the country is deemed adverse to U.S. foreign policy interests.

He has since been held in immigration detention in Louisiana.

Khalil was the first known foreign student to be arrested as part of Trump's bid to deport foreign students who took part in pro-Palestinian protests that swept U.S. college campuses after Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and Israel's subsequent military assault.