NEW YORK — Columbia University pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was released from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Jena, Louisiana, on Friday evening after more than three months in custody.
When asked by reporters, Khalil said that the first thing he’ll do when he arrives home is hug his wife and his son, who was born while Khalil was in custody.
“The hundreds of men who are left behind me shouldn’t be there in the first place,” Khalil said, referring to others being detained. “The Trump administration are doing their best to dehumanize everyone here — whether you are a U.S. citizen, an immigrant or just a person on this land, doesn’t mean that you are less of a human.”
Earlier Friday, U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz had issued an order granting Khalil’s release on bail, a decision that was sharply criticized by the Trump administration.
Khalil, a green card holder who is married to an American citizen, has been held in a Louisiana detention facility since he was arrested by ICE agents in New York City in March.
The ruling came at the same time an immigration judge in Jena, Louisiana, denied Khalil’s request for asylum and ordered him to remain detained — but Judge Farbiarz’s order supersedes that.
The judge indicated in the order that the conditions of Khalil’s release shall not include electronic monitoring or a requirement that a bond be immediately posted.
“The bail conditions shall include other requirements that the United States Magistrate Judge deems appropriate, including as to those states to which and through which the Petitioner may travel, and when the Petitioner must surrender his passport or passports,” Farbiarz wrote.
Conditions for Khalil’s release, as set by U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Hammer, include that he surrender his passport to authorities at the Jena detention facility where he’s been held, according to the court order. He must also restrict domestic travel to where he and his in-laws live, as well as where he may have attorney meetings, court appearances and legislative meetings. The government will return his green card and there will be no electronic monitoring, according to the court order.
Student negotiator Mahmoud Khalil is seen at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the Columbia University campus in New York, April 29, 2024.
AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File
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