Federal Courts Repeatedly Override Immigration Detention in Palestinian Cases

Judges across multiple circuits have ordered the release of at least four Palestinians and pro-Palestinian activists from ICE custody since April 2025. The cases—including Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil, detained 104 days; mosque president Salah Sarsour, held nearly three months; and two other detainees—follow a consistent pattern: executive detention, legal challenge, judicial override. The courts have applied different theories (habeas corpus, bail hearings), but none has produced a definitive appellate ruling on whether the government may detain noncitizens for protected political speech.