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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - The Third Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday rejected a Trump administration bid to suspend Palestinian rights activist Mahmoud Khalil's release on bail and re-detain him.

Palestinian rights activist Mahmoud Khalil visits Capitol Hill in Washington DC on July 22, 2025. © REUTERS

The court also denied the administration's attempt to stay a ruling which bars the government from seeking to deport Khalil over allegations that his First Amendment-protected speech endangers US foreign policy interests.

"Mahmoud spent 104 days in detention as punishment for speaking out for Palestinian rights. That is time with his family that he will never get back, but this decision affirms that he will remain free and that the government cannot pursue his removal based on the likely unconstitutional foreign policy charge as his case moves through appeal," Noor Zafar, senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement.

"We will not stand by and allow the government to weaponize immigration law to suppress lawful political speech," Zafar added.

Khalil made international headlines after his March 8 warrantless arrestin New York City and transfer to the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Jena. The recent Columbia University graduate student wastargeted by the Trump administrationfor deportation due to his activism, becoming a symbol of the student movement for Palestinian liberation.

A federal judge in New Jersey ordered Khalil's release on bail on June 20, ruling he "is not a danger to the community. Period, full stop."

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Since his release, Khalil has continued to stand for Palestinian rights. He traveled to Washington DC earlier this month to meet with lawmakers and to call for an end to US support for Israel amid the devastating siege of Gaza.

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