Who is Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil and why was he detained for 104 days in US?
Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent voice in the pro-Palestinian protests last year, became a symbol of US President Donald Trump's clampdown after student protests.
Former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil has been released from a US immigration detention after 104 days over pro-Palestinian protests across US campuses.
Khalil, a prominent voice in the pro-Palestinian protests last year, became a symbol of US President Donald Trump's clampdown after student protests.
The 30-year-old international affairs student, who was released from a federal facility in Louisiana on Friday, is expected to head to New York to reunite with his wife and infant son, born while he was in detention, Associated Press reported.
Why was Mahmoud Khalil arrested?
The US authorities had detained Khalil at his university residence on March 8.
The arrest appeared to be part of the Trump administration’s pledge to deport international students who joined the protests against Israel’s war in Gaza on US campuses last year.
Also Read: Trump's immigration enforcement record so far, by the numbers
He was taken to an immigration detention center in Jena, in remote Louisiana, though he was not involved in breaking any laws during the protests at Columbia.
Mahmoud Khalil's role in pro-Palestinian protests
Khalil, a legal US resident, served as a negotiator and spokesperson for student activists at Columbia University. The protesting students had demanded Columbia’s divestment from companies with ties to Israel, a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the Israel-Hamas war that killed over 55,000 Palestinians.
During the protest at Columbia, some protestors had seized the administration building, after which the university brought in police to dismantle the encampment. However, Khalil was not accused of participating in the building occupation and wasn’t among those arrested in connection with the protests.
The case so far
Months after the protests, the US government said that international students who participated in the protests should be expelled from the US for 'antisemitic' and 'pro-Hamas' sentiments.
Also Read: Trump shares social media post suggesting Iran's Fordow nuclear site ‘is gone’ after US strikes
Khalil's lawyers had challenged his detention, saying that the authorities were trying to deport him for an activity protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio backed Khalil’s deportation citing a statute that allows the government to deport those who pose "potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States."
Though an Immigration Judge ruled that the government’s contention was enough to satisfy requirements for Khalil's deportation, federal judges in New York and New Jersey ordered the US government not to deport Khalil while his case was being heard.
Khalil was released after US District Judge Michael Farbiarz said it would be “highly, highly unusual” for the government to continue detaining a legal US resident as he was not a flight risk or threat to his community while his immigration proceedings continued.
