“In short,” the New Jersey judge wrote in his 106-page opinion, “an ordinary person would have had no real inkling that a Section 1227 removal could go forward in this way.”

Though the ruling establishes that Khalil is likely to succeed on his constitutional claim, Farbiarz stopped short of granting immediate release. He instead requested further briefing on separate allegations that Khalil withheld key information, including his affiliations with certain organizations, on his green card application.

Khalil was arrested on March 8 in the lobby of his Columbia University dorm and has since been detained in Louisiana, missing the birth of his first child and his graduation. He was the first of several foreign-born academics swept up in a widening crackdown on pro-Palestinian student activism.

The government has alleged Khalil withheld that he worked for a U.N. Palestinian relief agency, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, on his visa application, saying that should be grounds for deportation. UNRWA has faced intense scrutiny from U.S. officials, who have accused it of ties to Hamas and, in some cases, complicity in terrorist activity. The State Department under former President Joe Biden paused funding to the agency after Israel provided intelligence alleging that 12 UNRWA staff members were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre.

Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security released a two-page memorandum from Rubio last month to an immigration court showcasing how Khalil played a role in “antisemitic protests and disruptive activities” on campus, which the administration argues create a hostile environment for Jewish students.

A DHS spokeswoman defended the administration’s motivations in a statement to the Washington Examiner, arguing they fall well within constitutional authority.

“Article II and federal statute clearly give President Trump the powers necessary to protect the safety and wellbeing of the American people,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. “That’s the job the American people elected him to do, and that’s what he did here. It is a privilege to be granted a visa to live and study in the United States of America. When you advocate for violence and terrorism that privilege should be revoked, and you should no longer be in this country. The Constitution, the facts, and common sense are on our side on this.”

In justifying Khalil’s deportation efforts, the administration invoked a Cold War-era deportation statute that permits the removal of noncitizens deemed a threat to foreign policy. But Farbiarz sharply criticized how the law was applied in this case, noting that Rubio never explained how Khalil’s campus activities actually affected diplomatic relations with another country — the core requirement of a foreign policy justification.

“The Secretary did not affirmatively determine that the Petitioner’s alleged conduct has impacted U.S. relations with other countries,” the judge wrote, adding that the memo “says nothing about any country other than America.”

Farbiarz, an appointee of Biden, warned that such vagueness hands unchecked power to executive officials, inviting arbitrary enforcement. “Without a ‘foreign policy’ link,” he wrote, “there is nothing left of the standard.”

Attorneys for Khalil celebrated the ruling as a vindication of their argument that the government is retaliating against protected speech.

JUDGE RULES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CAN DEPORT COLUMBIA STUDENT MAHMOUD KHALIL

“Secretary Rubio’s weaponization of immigration law to punish Mahmoud and others like him is likely unconstitutional,” they said. “We’ll continue fighting to return him to his wife and newborn son.”

While a separate immigration judge deemed the government met its burden of proof to deem Khalil a national security threat last month, Farbiarz’s earlier injunction prevents deportation while constitutional challenges play out.