“[T]he Court provides its conclusion: the Petitioner is likely to succeed on the merits of this unconstitutional vagueness argument,” Judge Michael Farbiarz wrote, chastising the government’s justification that Khalil could pose a threat to the foreign policy of the United States.

   But Farbiarz still did not order Khalil’s release because he does not believe Khalil’s lawyers have properly responded to the government’s allegations that he did not disclose all of his former work on his permanent residency application.

   “The Petitioner’s legal briefs still make no substantial argument as to the failure-to-disclose claim — even as lengthy supplemental briefs have been filed,” he wrote.

   The judge said he will consider Khalil’s request for a release as additional information is provided. 

   Khalil has been detained since March 8 and missed the birth of his first child after the federal government arrested and sought to deport him over his participation in last year’s student protests.

   The Trump administration later added he did not disclose prior work on his permanent residency application such as his time at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, employment with the Syria Office in the British Embassy in Beirut past 2022 and was a member of the Columbia University Apartheid Divest group.

   His detention has dragged on even as some foreign students who were arrested under similar justifications have been granted bail while their proceedings move forward. 

   Harvard University’s international students are in turmoil as some seek to transfer schools and others are afraid to attend graduation or even to be separated from their families in the U.S., according to a court filing from Maureen Martin, the university’s director of immigration services.

   Martin detailed a long list of consequences of the Trump administration’s directive that seeks to block Harvard’s ability to admit foreign students and told current ones they would have to transfer or leave the country. 

   Despite a judge putting a temporary pause on the measure, the students are apparently trying to figure out how they can get out of Dodge. “Many international students and scholars are reporting significant emotional distress that is affecting their mental health and making it difficult to focus on their studies. Some are afraid to attend their own graduation ceremonies this week out of fear that some immigration-related action will be taken against them,” Martin wrote. 

   Some students have canceled plans to visit family as reports come in that those with Harvard visas are undergoing extra screening at airports on the way back to the U.S., including a former head of state who is currently a fellow at the university, and are afraid to be separated from family in the U.S.

   Martin knows of at least 10 international students who had their visa applications denied following the government’s revocation notice.  

   “Too many international students to count have inquired about the possibility of transferring to another institution,” she said, while others have revoked or deferred their acceptance. 

   However, students who want to transfer could have a difficult time as many of the deadlines have passed for undergraduate transfers and those in graduate and Ph.D. programs are often specialized and not easy to switch. 

   But other countries, including adversarial ones such as China, are trying to recruit anyway, according to Martin, with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology offering to streamline transfers from Harvard. 

   The judge in the case is holding an emergency hearing to determine if an extended pause of the administration’s directive is warranted.