The Trump administration is seeking to deport Khalil over his role in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University.

Judge Michael Farbiarz said it would be "highly, highly unusual" for the government to continue detaining a legal resident who was unlikely to flee and hadn't been accused of any violence.

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge on Friday ordered the U.S. government to free former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil from the immigration detention center where he has been held since early March while the Trump administration sought to deport him over his role in pro-Palestinian protests.