A federal judge has just blocked the Trump administration from deporting pro-Hamas activist Mahmoud Khalil, who they arrested over the weekend.

Because there’s a challenge to his arrest, the judge says he must remain in the US to “preserve the court’s jurisdiction”.

Here’s more from NBC News:

As hundreds of demonstrators rallied in New York City on Monday to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a federal judge just steps away blocked the Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate’s removal from the United States.

Judge Jesse M. Furman said Khalil is to remain in the U.S. “to preserve the court’s jurisdiction” as the court while weighs a filing challenging his arrest. A hearing was scheduled for Wednesday at federal court in New York City.

Khalil attended Columbia University and helped organize protests last spring about war between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. He was arrested by federal immigration agents Saturday over what officials said was his support for a designated terror organization, Hamas.

Hundreds of demonstrators rallied in New York City on Monday to demand his release after President Donald Trump said Khalil’s was the “first arrest of many to come.”

Furman is an Obama appointee, in case you were wondering. I’m not sure this hold on deportation is completely unreasonable given the lawsuit, but at the same time Khalil is not a US citizen and authorities have every right to deport him, especially given his terrorist sympathies and activism.