
Image source, Reuters
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- Author, Writing
- Author's title, BBC News World
Mahmoud Khalil, the student of the University of Columbia and Protective Manifestant, came out on Friday on bail, after being arrested for the Immigration and Customs Control Service (ICE) more than three months ago.
Khalil became a symbol of the repression of the Trump administration against foreign universities and students when ICE agents arrested him in New York on March 8.
The American district judge Michael Farbiarz determined that Khalil does not imply a risk of escape or a threat to his community, and that he could be released during the immigration procedure, according to the CBS News chain, a BBC partner in the USA.
Khalil, whose wife is American, left the detention center in Jena, Louisiana, in the company of her lawyers and with a Kaffiyeh, symbol of Palestinian solidarity.
“No one should be arrested for protesting a genocide (…) Justice will prevail,” he said.
The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, invoked an unused section of the Immigration and Nationality Law to argue that Khalil's presence in the United States could have “potentially serious adverse consequences for foreign policy.”
Last week, Judge Farbiar ruled that Rubio's justification to detain Khalil was probably unconstitutional and that the US government could not stop or deport the 30 -year -old American legal resident under that reasoning.
Trump's lawyers then said that Khalil was detained for a different reason, since he did not reveal information when he requested the legal permanent residence in 2024.
In a statement, the White House spokeswoman, Abigail Jackson, accused Khalil of incurring “fraud and misrepresentation” and “conduct harmful to the interests of US foreign policy.”
The White House also argues that Judge Farbiar had no jurisdiction to order Khalil's release.
“We hope to be claimed in the appeal and we hope to expel Khalil from the United States,” Jackson said.
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