Mahmoud Khalil released after three months in ICE detention

Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, who spent more than three months in U.S. immigration detention over his pro-Palestinian activism, was released on Friday following a judge’s order declaring that he poses no threat to public safety.

Khalil, 30, had been held in an ICE detention center in Jena, Louisiana, since March, after being apprehended by plainclothes immigration officers in the lobby of his building in New York. He was the last of several international students arrested by the Trump administration for participating in protests against Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

At approximately 6:30 p.m. local time, Khalil walked out of the high-security facility through gates topped with razor wire, accompanied by his attorneys. He briefly addressed reporters outside saying, “Although justice prevailed it’s very long overdue and this shouldn’t have taken three months. I leave some incredible men behind me, over 1,000 people behind me, in a place where they shouldn’t have been,” reported The Guardian.

Responding to the Trump administration’s claims that his activism made him a national security threat, Khalil said, “Trump and his administration, they chose the wrong person for this. That doesn’t mean there is a right person for this. There is no right person who should be detained for actually protesting a genocide.”

Khalil also shared his excitement to reunite with his infant son, born during his detention. “I can actually hug him,” he said.

Federal Judge Michael Farbiarz, who presided over the case in Newark, New Jersey, ruled that Khalil is not a flight risk or a danger to society. “He is not a danger to the community. Period, full stop,” Farbiarz declared. He also called the government’s justification for continued detention “highly, highly unusual,” stating they had “clearly not met” the legal threshold.

As part of his conditional release, Khalil was ordered to surrender his passport and green card and restrict his travel to a few states, including New York, Louisiana, Michigan, and New Jersey for court proceedings.

Khalil’s arrest had sparked nationwide concern, with critics calling it a violation of free speech and an alarming escalation in government action against peaceful protest. He was never charged with any crime. His detention, and those of others, had been widely viewed as part of the Trump administration’s pledge to deport pro-Palestinian international students.

While Khalil’s release marks a setback for the administration’s efforts, legal proceedings continue. Government lawyers have since pivoted to claim inconsistencies in his green card application, a charge Khalil’s legal team disputes.

Judge Farbiarz had previously questioned the constitutionality of the legal provision used to detain Khalil—a seldom-used immigration clause allowing deportation based on alleged foreign policy threats.

Support for Khalil came from Jewish students and faculty, who submitted court statements defending him. Khalil had earlier told CNN, “The liberation of the Palestinian people and the Jewish people are intertwined and go hand-by-hand, and you cannot achieve one without the other.”

His wife, Noor Abdallah, gave birth to their son, Deen, during his incarceration. In a heartfelt letter to his child, Khalil wrote: “I hope one day you will stand tall knowing your father was not absent out of apathy, but out of conviction.”

Following the judge’s ruling, Abdallah said in a statement released by Khalil’s legal team that she could finally “breathe a sigh of relief.” She added, “We know this ruling does not begin to address the injustices the Trump administration has brought upon our family, and so many others, but today we are celebrating Mahmoud coming back to New York to be reunited with our little family.”

Amnesty International USA also welcomed the court's decision, calling it “overdue” and urging the administration to “immediately comply with this order.”