Judge says he will order Columbia University protester Mahmoud Khalil freed from detention

NEW YORK AP A federal judge says he ll order Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil published from immigration detention Judge Michael Farbiarz made the ruling from the bench in federal court in New Jersey on Friday Lawyers for the Columbia graduate had solicited a federal judge to promptly release him on bail from a Louisiana jail or else transfer him to New Jersey where he can be closer to his wife and newborn son Khalil was the first arrest under President Donald Trump s crackdown on students who joined campus protests against Israel s devastating war in Gaza U S Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated Khalil must be expelled from the country because his continued presence could harm American foreign protocol The same judge had ruled earlier that the administration can continue to detain the legal U S resident based on claims that he lied on his green card application Khalil disputes the accusations that he wasn t forthcoming on the application The judge previously determined that Khalil couldn t continue being held based on the U S secretary of state s determination that he could harm American foreign agenda Khalil a legal U S resident was detained on March at his apartment building in Manhattan over his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations His lawyers say the Trump administration is just trying to crack down on free speech Khalil isn t accused of latest any laws during the protests at Columbia The international affairs graduate candidate served as a negotiator and spokesperson for pupil activists He wasn t among the demonstrators arrested but his prominence in news coverage and willingness to speak publicly made him a target of critics The Trump administration has argued that noncitizens who participate in such demonstrations should be expelled from the country as it considers their views antisemitic