A federal judge has ruled that pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil will remain in ICE custody, after the Trump administration shifted legal strategy and found a new justification to keep him detained.
Khalil, a green card holder and former lead agitator for Columbia University’s pro-Palestinian encampment, was initially set to be released Friday morning by court order. But that order never took effect, reports said.
Instead, the federal government argued that Khalil failed to fully disclose parts of his past work history when applying for permanent residency, and that alone was grounds for removal, NewsNation reported.
That was enough to convince District Judge Michael Farbiarz to keep Khalil behind bars.
“Khalil is now detained based on that other charge of removability,” government lawyers said. “Detaining Khalil based on that other ground of removal is lawful.”
