Judge Says She May Order the Release of Detained Columbia University Activist

The government must turn over the evidence it compiled against activist Mahmoud Khalil, the immigration judge said.

Mahmoud Khalil at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the Columbia University campus in New York on April 29, 2024. Ted Shaffrey/AP Photo

An immigration judge in Louisiana said on April 8 that she will decide later this week whether the government must release Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University activist facing deportation after participating in pro-Palestinian campus protests.

At a hearing Tuesday, Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Jamee Comans gave the federal government until Wednesday to turn over its evidence against Khalil, a 30-year-old legal U.S. resident.