Really, the Miller/Trump goons should never have detained Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil in the first place. You don’t have to agree with his pro-Palestinian views but the guy is a legal permanent resident and has not been charged with any crimes.
A federal judge agreed on Friday.
Via The New York Times:
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Friday to release Mahmoud Khalil on bail, a ruling that would end a three-month detention for Mr. Khalil, the only high-profile pro-Palestinian demonstrator in the United States who remains in confinement.
The ruling is a major victory and relief for Mr. Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and legal permanent U.S. resident who played a leading role in demonstrations at the school’s campus last year.
The judge, Michael E. Farbiarz of Federal District Court in Newark, said during a two-hour hearing that he had been persuaded by Mr. Khalil’s arguments that his detention was an unlawful retaliation against his pro-Palestinian speech.
“There is at least something to the underlying claim that there is an effort to use the immigration charge here to punish Mr. Khalil,” he said. “And of course that would be unconstitutional.”
The administration can continue in its efforts to deport Mr. Khalil, whose wife and infant son are U.S. citizens. But, if the government heeds Judge Farbiarz’s order, it will do so with Mr. Khalil free from detention, and back in New York with his family.
You can dislike Khalil and his views all you like. But don’t for one minute think that foreigners will be the only ones rounded up and detained on bogus charges if they publicly express views Stephen Miller and Donald Trump don’t like.
