US judge sets new deadline over detention of pro-Palestinian activist Khalil

A judge on Friday set the Trump administration a new deadline to appeal his ruling that it could not use foreign policy interests to justify the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, opening the way for the possible release of the Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist.

Newark, New Jersey-based U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz gave the government until 1:30 p.m. (1730 GMT) on Friday to lodge an appeal to his Wednesday ruling on Khalil, a 30-year-old Palestinian who came to the U.S. lawfully on a student visa and later obtained lawful permanent residency.

Farbiarz issued the order after Khalil's lawyers called for his immediate release after the government failed to meet a previous deadline of 9:30 a.m. set by the judge for an appeal.

President Donald Trump, a Republican, has pledged to deport foreign students who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations that swept Columbia and other U.S. universities in the wake of Israel's military campaign in Gaza.

Khalil, a prominent figure in pro-Palestinian protests against Israel's war on Gaza, was detained by immigration agents in the lobby of his university residence in Manhattan on March 8.

He has since been held in immigration detention in Louisiana. Khalil is fighting for his release as Kilmar Abrego Garcia, another immigrant targeted by the Trump administration, was set to enter a plea to criminal charges.

The administration says it revoked Khalil's green card under a little-used provision of U.S. immigration law allowing the deportation of any noncitizen whose presence in the country is deemed by the U.S. secretary of state to be adverse to U.S. foreign policy interests.

Khalil's lawyers said his arrest and attempted deportation violated his right to free speech under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.

Farbiarz had previously blocked the administration from deporting Khalil while his challenge to the constitutionality of his arrest played out.

On May 28, the judge ruled that the foreign policy provision cited by the Trump administration was so vague that it was likely unconstitutional, and on Wednesday he ruled that the administration could not use that provision to justify Khalil's detention.

The U.S. government also has said Khalil should be deported because he withheld information from his application for a green card, which he has denied.

Farbiarz wrote that lawful permanent residents are rarely detained on that basis.

Khalil's U.S. citizen wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, gave birth to the couple's first child while Khalil was detained in April.