On The Front Lines

In a Legal Defeat for Government Efforts to Weaponize Immigration, Judge Orders Release of U.S. Protester Detained for Political Speech

NEWARK, NJ — In yet another legal setback for the Trump Administration in its efforts to weaponize immigration enforcement in order to punish political dissent, a federal judge has ordered that a former Columbia University graduate student be freed from ICE detention.

One week after warning that the Trump administration’s actions likely pose a serious threat to constitutional rights, U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz of New Jersey ordered the government to release Mahmoud Khalil, a legal U.S. resident married to a U.S. citizen and father to a newborn. The judge refused to require any electronic monitoring of Khalil while he is out of custody, as the government provided no basis for that. Khalil was arrested on March 8, 2025, under a little-used statute that allows the Secretary of State to deport non-citizens for expressing views deemed contrary to U.S. foreign policy interests. Although the Supreme Court affirmed in 1945 that freedom of speech applies to all persons within the United States, including non-citizens, the Trump Administration has systematically targeted university students engaged in peaceful political protests for arrests, detentions and deportations. In coming to Mahmoud Khalil’s defense, a legal coalition that includes The Rutherford Institute and FIRE warned that allowing deportation based on a government official’s disapproval of someone’s speech threatens free expression for everyone.

“This case shows how dangerously close we’ve come to criminalizing dissent and serves as a powerful reminder that the First Amendment applies to everyone in America—regardless of citizenship status,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People. “Attempts to weaponize immigration law to silence peaceful protest undermine the very foundation of a free society.”

Although Mahmoud Khalil has not been accused of any vandalism or physical violence related to his protest activity at Columbia University, he was arrested and transported to an out-of-state detention center in Louisiana, far from his attorneys and family. In response to a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, asking for Khalil’s release, the federal court granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting the government from detaining or deporting Khalil based on Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s determination that Khalil’s nonviolent protest activity would compromise a U.S. foreign policy interest—a determination which the court found likely violates due process rights when coupled with First Amendment protections.

The judge warned that if such a law can be used against Khalil, “then other, similar statutes can also one day be made to apply. Not just in the removal context, as to foreign nationals. But also in the criminal context, as to everyone.” The court further invoked a chilling analogy: “Imagine… if a local police chief were granted the power to arrest any person whose mere presence would cause potentially serious adverse consequences for the public peace.” Although the Trump administration then based Khalil’s ongoing detention on a second charge for allegedly failing to disclose his association with certain humanitarian organizations on his application for lawful permanent residence, Khalil has denied failing to disclose any such required information. As the judge noted, legal permanent residents are virtually never detained for such reasons.

Ronnie London, Conor Fitzpatrick, Will Creeley, and others at FIRE (the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression) advanced the arguments in the Khalil v. Trump amicus brief.

The Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit civil liberties organization, defends individuals whose constitutional rights have been threatened or violated and educates the public on a wide spectrum of issues affecting their freedoms.

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Case History

March 20, 2025 • Deporting Non-Citizen Protesters Sets a Dangerous Precedent of Punishment and Retaliation for All Americans 

June 17, 2025 • Trump Administration Accused of Using Deportation Powers to Punish Protesters, Chill Political Speech