A federal judge has ruled that the government cannot deport and must release Mahmoud Khalil, the student whom the Trump administration jailed over his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University.

Khalil's lawyers challenged the legality of his detention, accusing the Trump administration of trying to crack down on free speech.

A U.S. judge on Friday denied Mahmoud Khalil's request to be released from detention, after federal prosecutors changed their rationale for holding the Columbia graduate student as part of its crackdown on pro-Palestinian activists.