Overview

• Judge Michael Farbiarz concluded that Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s security claims did not suffice to keep Khalil in ICE custody
• Khalil was arrested in New York on March 8 and held in a Louisiana immigrant detention center while facing deportation proceedings
• The Justice Department attempted to justify continued detention on alternative legal grounds after the court struck down the initial security rationale
• His case has become emblematic of the administration’s effort to curb pro-Palestinian student activism on U.S. campuses
• Civil rights groups including CAIR hailed the ruling as a reinforcement of First Amendment protections for immigrant detainees