Biden-Appointed Judge Throws Wrench In Trump State Dept’s Bid To Deport Pro-Palestinian Protester

A Biden-appointed federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration’s efforts to deport a pro-Palestinian student protester accused of Hamas sympathies is likely unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz, appointed to the bench by the Biden administration in 2023, found that Secretary of State Marco Rubio likely acted unconstitutionally when revoking Mahmoud Khalil’s residency status under a federal provision that allows for the deportation of non-citizens deemed to be a foreign policy threat, according to court documents. However, the judge stopped short of ordering Mahmoud to be released from custody.

“Rather, the issue now before the Court has been this: does the Constitution allow the Secretary of State to use Section 1227, as applied through the determination, to try to remove the Petitioner from the United States?” Farbiarz wrote, referring to the section of federal law that contains the removal provision.

“The Court’s answer: likely not,” the judge said.

Farbiarz ruled Wednesday that the Secretary of State never explained whether Khalil’s activism “affected U.S. relations with any other country,” and as a result, the department’s use of the Section 1227 provision was likely “unconstitutionally vague.”

But while refraining from ordering Khalil to be released, the federal judge also requested additional information on the Trump administration’s assertions that Khalil omitted pertinent information on his green card application, according to court documents.

While Khalil’s court challenge continues on, an 🛂Immigration judge in Louisiana ruled in April