Judge orders release of Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil from ICE detention

A federal judge in New Jersey on Friday ordered that Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil must be released from detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement as his immigration proceedings play out. 

During a hearing before U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz, Khalil's attorneys asked him to free Khalil from detention or transfer him to New Jersey. Farbiarz agreed, determining that Khalil is not a threat to the community, not a flight risk and that his detention has been "highly unusual." 

Farbiarz denied the government's request to stay his decision, meaning it is effective immediately. An attorney for the Justice Department said the government is likely to appeal.