BURLINGTON, Vt. (TNND) — A judge on Wednesday ordered the release of a Palestinian student activist who led protests against the war in Gaza at Columbia University and was arrested by immigration officers while waiting for an interview to become a U.S. citizen.

U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford in Vermont issued the ruling after a hearing on Mohsen Mahdawi, a legal resident who has held a green card since 2015. He was being held at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans.

A judge also issued an order preventing the government from removing him from the state or country.

Mahdawi was a prominent activist in the protests at Columbia over the war in Gaza alongside Mahmoud Khalil, who the Trump administration detained in March. An immigration judge ruled that Khalil can be deported as a national security risk.

Lawyers immediately filed a writ of habeas corpus and petitioned for a temporary restraining order, noting that his detention was in retaliation for his speech advocating for Palestinian human rights.

According to court documents obtained by The Associated Press, his notice to appear in immigration court says he is removable under the Immigration and Nationality Act because Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined his presence and activities “would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences and would compromise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest.”

The government argues that Mahdawi’s detention is a “constitutionally valid aspect of the deportation process” and that district courts are barred from hearing challenges to how and when such proceedings are begun.

“District courts play no role in that process. Consequently, this Court lacks jurisdiction over Petitioner’s claims, which are all, at bottom, challenges to removal proceedings,” wrote Michael Drescher, Vermont’s acting U.S. attorney.

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Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.