A federal judge has ruled that Columbia University can share student records with Congress, but students targeted have 30 days to challenge those requests.
Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent resident of the United States and student at Columbia, is among a group of students at risk of being deported over protests condemning Israel’s actions in the war in Gaza. Congress has been demanding records as part of a Republican-led investigation into alleged anti-semitism on campuses such as Columbia, which became a focal point of protest last year over the war.
Khalil and other students involved in the case moved to file a restraining order which would prevent Columbia from further sharing their personal records. Federal Judge Arun Subramanian blocked that motion Friday, but ruled the university must give a 30-day notice to students before releasing their information.
“If plaintiffs can address the threshold issues identified here and in defendants’ submissions, they may renew their motion,” Subramanian wrote in his ruling. “In the meantime, to give plaintiffs the opportunity to seek timely relief if necessary, Columbia will be required to notify plaintiffs and the Court thirty days before further student records (or students’ identities in records already produced) are furnished to Congress.”
Subramanian noted in his ruling that Columbia had already shared some student records with Congress and that, “plaintiffs can’t enjoin what’s already done.”
Subramanian said the 30-day grace period is to give students time to prepare for the case to proceed.
Khalil, who was taken from his home by plainclothes immigration officers who would not initially identify themselves, has not been charged with a crime. He was transferred to a detention facility in Louisiana nearly 1,500 miles from his family.
Lawyers for Khalil and others said the ruling means they can continue pursuing their legal fight against an administration bent on curbing the First Amendment right to free expression, according to a statement provided to the Associated Press.
The Trump administration has pushed multiple times for the case to proceed in Louisiana, but both times the move was denied. The case is set to proceed in New Jersey, near Khalil’s wife, a U.S. citizen who was also threatened with arrest.
Multiple students and universities have been targeted by ICE for their involvement with protests across the country. The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress have accused students of “anti-semitism” without evidence, for protesting against Israel’s actions. International human rights groups like Amnesty International have deemed Israel’s attacks as genocide against the Palestinians.
A 21-year-old Columbia student, Yunseo Chung, was also targeted by ICE for protest involvement. She’s lived in the country with her family since she was seven, and is facing deportation.
The university itself, which last year was the national focal point of protests against Israel’s attacks on Gaza, was targeted for $400 million in federal funding cuts unless it met the Trump administration’s demands to crack down on protests and alleged “harassment of Jewish students.”
Columbia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.