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 has been detained since he was arrested in March. The government has argued that the secretary of state can “personally determine” whether he should remain in the country.

Columbia University alumnus Mahmoud Khalil cannot be detained nor deported from the U.S. based on evidence provided by the Trump administration, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. The big picture: It's a setback for the administration in the case of a legal U.