New York, June 21 -- A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to release pro-Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil from immigration custody on bail.
Khalil, a lawful permanent resident, had been held for three months in a Louisiana detention facility after being detained in March in the lobby of his university-owned apartment building in New York City.
The Trump administration sought to deport him over his role in pro-Palestinian protests. He was the only high-profile pro-Palestinian demonstrator in the United States who remained in custody.
The judge, Michael Farbiarz of Federal District Court in Newark, said during a two-hour hearing that it would be "highly, highly unusual" for the go...