Following Mahmoud Khalil’s release on June 20, 2025, his legal team has filed a preliminary injunction motion in federal court. The motion challenges the government’s efforts to detain and deport him based on a second immigration charge. This charge involves alleged misrepresentations on his green card application and is argued to be unconstitutional. The legal team claims that this post-hoc charge was retaliatory, violating Mr. Khalil’s First Amendment and Fifth Amendment rights.
In June, the court ruled that the original charges against Mr. Khalil were likely unconstitutional, blocking his detention under those grounds. The government then introduced new charges for justification of detention. Judge Michael E. Farbiarz ordered Mr. Khalil’s release, noting that such charges are rare and affirming he posed no public threat.
The second misrepresentation charge has not been formally blocked by the court yet.
Mr. Khalil was detained during the Trump administration for supporting Palestinian rights and was held in Louisiana far from his family and legal team for over three months.
Amy Belsher from NYCLU stated: “The Trump administration’s baseless, after-the-fact charges against Mahmoud Khalil are nothing more than further retaliation for his outspoken advocacy for Palestinian human rights.” Liza Weisberg of ACLU-NJ commented: “The government has gone to extraordinary and outrageous lengths in its attempt to silence Mahmoud Khalil.” Brian Hauss from ACLU added: “This is textbook retaliation.”
Mr. Khalil is represented by multiple organizations including Dratel & Lewis, Center for Constitutional Rights, CLEAR, Van Der Hout LLP, Washington Square Legal Services, NYCLU, ACLU of New Jersey, ACLU of Louisiana, and ACLU.
