Overview

• Farbiarz found Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s foreign policy justification “unconstitutionally vague” under Section 1227 of the Immigration and Nationality Act
• The ruling stays the Trump administration’s attempt to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia graduate student detained by ICE since March
• Khalil was arrested in New York and held in Louisiana, causing him to miss his graduation and the birth of his first child
• Although likely to prevail on his constitutional claim, Khalil remains in custody pending additional filings on alleged omissions in his residency application
• Khalil’s attorneys hailed the decision as a defense of free speech and plan to submit the requested evidence to pursue his release