Judge orders Trump administration to release Mahmoud Khalil, condemns ‘chilling’ assault on free speech

Warning of the “chilling” effect on free speech, a US federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration can no longer detain Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil under a Cold War-era foreign policy provision that legal experts say violates constitutional protections.

District Judge Michael Farbiarz found that detaining Khalil based on vague national security allegations amounted to a serious infringement on his rights. “The petitioner’s career and reputation are being damaged and his speech is being chilled – and this adds up to irreparable harm,” Farbiarz said in his judgement.

Khalil has been held in a detention facility in Louisiana since 8 March. Despite never being charged with a crime, he was branded a threat to US foreign policy by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, widely considered to be pro-Israel hawk and an Israeli first lawmaker. Khalil was detained under a rarely invoked section of the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act. The judge’s ruling prevents deportation based solely on this provision, giving the government until Friday morning to appeal.

The ruling marks a rare judicial rebuke of the escalating suppression of pro-Palestinian speech in the US, which has intensified sharply since October 2023. Khalil’s detention came amid a coordinated crackdown targeting student activists, including arrests and deportation attempts against several international students for voicing criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza.

Lawyers representing Khalil argue that he is being punished for political speech. The administration has accused him of anti-Semitism and support for Hamas, but no evidence has been presented either publicly or in court. Farbiarz’s judgement implies deep scepticism about the legitimacy of these claims, writing that detention based on such grounds is “overwhelmingly unlikely” to withstand constitutional scrutiny.

Read: US government’s case against Mahmoud Khalil lacks solid evidence, relies on tabloid sources: Report

However, the judge stopped short of ordering Khalil’s immediate release, citing alleged errors in his green card application. Khalil is said to have inaccurately filled out his green card application “This court’s findings have no impact on efforts to remove the petitioner for reasons other than the Secretary of State’s determination,” Farbiarz clarified.

Khalil, who missed the birth of his first child while in detention, has described the ordeal as “long days bearing witness to quiet injustices”. In a statement earlier this month, he recalled crouching on a detention centre floor, speaking to his wife through a crackling phone line as she delivered their son alone.

His arrest marked the beginning of a broader pattern. In the following weeks, federal authorities arrested other international students affiliated with pro-Palestine activism, often without warrants or due process. Critics say these cases represent a political witch hunt designed to stifle dissent and intimidate young activists.

Civil liberties advocates have drawn comparisons to McCarthy-era tactics, warning that the state’s conflation of Palestinian advocacy with terrorism sets a dangerous precedent.

The backdrop is a growing international outcry over US complicity in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. More than 54,000 Palestinians—mostly women and children—have been killed since October 2023. While student activists like Khalil are criminalised, US military aid and diplomatic cover for Israel have continued unabated.