Judge Orders Mahmoud Khalil Released on Bail

Federal District Court Judge Michael Farbiarz ordered Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil released on bail while his immigration case moves through court.

Farbiarz decided Khalil was unlikely to flee and was not a threat to the public.

Khalil was involved in pro-Palestinian protests at the university last year. His arrest sparked protests and public outcry, including the confrontational way agents did it in the hallways of the apartment building where he lived and their threats to arrest his pregnant wife when she tried to get them to let her retrieve documentation of his right to be in the USA from their apartment. He has not been charged with any crime.

During the three months he has been detained, his wife had their baby and accepted his diploma on his behalf at graduation. They have not been readily able to visit because Immigration and Customs Enforcement quickly moved him to a facility in Louisiana, where the appeals court is especially harsh.

Invoking the Immigration and Nationality Act, Secretary of State Marco Rubio justified detaining Khalil and striving to deport him by declaring his presence in the USA could have “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.”

Last week, Farbiarz decided that rationale does not support detaining or deporting Khalil.

Government attorneys pivoted to claim a different justification, failure to disclose some details when he applied for permanent residency last year which was granted, and refused to release him.

Farbiarz was generally skeptical of the government’s case. He said, “It’s overwhelmingly unlikely that a lawful permanent resident would be held on the remaining charge here.” He observed “there is an effort to use the immigration charge here to punish the petitioner” for protesting against Israel’s military assaults in Gaza.

Terms of release for Khalil would not make him wear an electronic monitor. He would get his green card back, but only a a certified copy of his passport in place of his physical passport which the government will keep. This will allow him to travel domestically to attend immigration hearings and for family purposes, such as to go home from Louisiana. He will not be allowed to travel internationally.

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