Michael Farbiarz, a district judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, ruled on Wednesday that Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia University graduate who the Trump administration alleges has terror ties, cannot be deported on foreign-policy grounds.
In a 14-page order, Farbiarz wrote that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to justify Khalil’s removal by citing “a compelling foreign-policy interest” but found that the administration’s legal reasoning may not withstand constitutional scrutiny.
“Khalil’s career and reputation are being damaged and his speech is being chilled, and this adds up to irreparable harm,” Farbiarz wrote.
The judge did not block Khalil’s detention or removal on other grounds, such as alleged omissions on his green card application.
Federal agents arrested Khalil, who is from Syria, on March 8. He is being held at the LaSalle Detention Facility in Jena, La. Khalil, who holds a green card and is married to a U.S. citizen, led the pro-Hamas mobs at Columbia University.
The ruling does not go into effect until June 13 at 9:30 a.m., to give the Trump administration time to respond and file an appeal.
