The federal judge presiding over Mahmoud Khalil’s case ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration, for now, cannot deport or detain the Columbia University activist based on a determination by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The judge’s preliminary injunction will not take effect until Friday, giving the government time to appeal. He stayed the preliminary injunction until 9:30 a.m. Friday.
“This is the news we’ve been waiting over three months for,” Khalil’s wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, said in a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union, which is among the legal teams involved in the case.
Rubio has cited an obscure provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 to justify Khalil’s removal from the United States, saying he poses a national security risk. He had argued that the provision allows the secretary of state to “personally determine” whether Khalil should remain in the country.
U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz determined that Khalil could not be removed or detained based on Rubio’s determination.
Khalil was a Columbia University student who played an active role in protests over the war in Gaza on the Manhattan campus last year.
He was arrested by federal agents in March and has been held since then as he and his