Judge orders immediate release of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil

A US federal judge has ordered the release of Mahmoud Khalil from immigration custody as his legal fight continues to play out. 

The Trump administration's deportation case against the Palestinian activist and US green card holder is not over yet, but now that he will be out on bail, Khalil will be able to hold his newborn son for the very first time. 

The decision is a landmark victory for rights organisations that said Khalil's constitutionally protected freedom of speech was not just trampled upon, but he was "punished". 

Judge Michael Farbiarz said on Friday that the Trump administration was unable to make its case that Khalil would be a danger to the public or a flight risk if released from an immigration detention facility in Jena, Louisiana, where he was secretly transferred after his arrest. 

Farbiarz, a New Jersey district court judge who is overseeing Khalil's case, last week ruled it was unconstitutional to detain and deport Khalil, a lawful permanent resident, for supporting Palestinian human rights, and that he should be released from detention.

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