News - Middle East: A US federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration's cited foreign policy reasons were insufficient to justify the deportation or detention of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil.

Issued by US District Judge Michael Farbiarz of New Jersey on Wednesday, the preliminary injunction does not go into effect until Friday morning, giving the government a chance to appeal.

The ruling, however, deals a significant blow to the Trump administration's efforts to deport Khalil.

Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and a Palestinian activist who helped organize campus protests against Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza across the US last year, was arrested on March 8 in New York. He has since been held at an immigration detention center in Louisiana. He is also a legal permanent US resident and previously served as a lead negotiator for Columbia University Apartheid Divest, CUAD.

The court's decision centers on Secretary of State Marco Rubio's assertions that Khalil's presence threatened key US foreign policy interests. While Judge Farbiarz had earlier suggested such deportation grounds might violate constitutional protections, he only formally blocked the action in Wednesday's ruling.

"The Court finds as a matter of fact that [Khalil's] career and reputation are being damaged and his speech is being chilled — and this adds up to irreparable harm," Farbiarz said.

The administration has accused Khalil of anti-Semitism but officials have offered no evidence to support their claims, either publicly or in court files.

Critics have instead argued that the administration is using such claims to silence all forms of pro-Palestine advocacy.

US President Donald Trump has begun following through on a threat to deport all non-citizen university activists with ties to the pro-Palestine protests, which rocked the US last spring.

Trump officials have accused these students of being “adversarial to the foreign policy and national security interests” of the US over their condemnation of Israel’s months-long genocidal war on Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The moves have drawn stiff pushback from critics, who argue the Trump administration is punishing students for First Amendment-protected speech. However, administration officials maintain they possess the authority to cancel visas, claiming some students engaged in anti-Semitic or threatening conduct—accusations the students firmly reject.

Source: Press TV