Judge blocks deportation of Palestinian activist from US

"To preserve the Court’s jurisdiction pending a ruling on the petition, Petitioner shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court orders otherwise," US District Judge Jesse M. Furman said in his order.

A hearing was scheduled for Wednesday at a federal court in New York City.

Khalil, a green card holder and a recent Columbia University graduate who helped lead a pro-Palestinian encampment last April, was arrested at his university-owned residence in New York on Saturday night.

President Donald Trump defended the move, calling it “the first arrest of many to come.”

Trump said Khalil, whom he described as a “foreign pro-Hamas student,” was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in accordance with executive orders he had signed.

“We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it,” he wrote.

According to Khalil’s lawyer Amy Greer, he was “wrongfully arrested” by ICE agents who claimed his student visa was revoked -- even though he is a legal permanent resident (green card) and not in the US on a student visa.

While hundreds of demonstrators rallied in New York City on Monday to demand the release of Khalil, US lawmakers and civil rights organizations took to social media to criticize his arrest.