Anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil was released on bail from an immigration detention center on Friday following an order by a judge. 

Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student, left a federal facility in Louisiana before 7 p.m. on Friday and is expected to head to New York, where his wife and baby live. He must notify the Department of Homeland Security within 48 hours of his address after arriving in New York. 

U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz in his Friday order said it would be “highly, highly unusual” to hold a legal U.S. resident who doesn’t appear to be a flight risk and isn’t accused of violent offenses. 

“Petitioner is not a flight risk and the evidence presented is that he is not a danger to the community,” Farbiarz said. “Period, full stop.”

Mahmoud Khalil posing for a picture as he leaves the detention center in Louisiana.  (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)

But the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also added a second reason for keeping Khalil detained and attempting to deport him. The DHS said Khalil allegedly omitted key information from his green card application about groups with which he was affiliated, including the Columbia University Apartheid Divest.

Mahmoud Khalil needs to surrender his passport but will be given back his green card.  (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)

Khalil’s case has become a lightning rod for anti-Israel protesters and immigration rights advocates. They have argued the Trump administration is retaliating against him for opposing the Israeli government and chilling free speech of those who oppose Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip and conflict with Iran.

Hundreds of anti-ICE protesters marching in April in San Francisco demanding Khalil’s release.  (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Khalil must surrender his passport but will be given his green card and will be allowed to travel to New York, Michigan, where he has family, New Jersey and Louisiana for court appearances, and Washington, D.C. for lobbying. 

The Trump administration is appealing the preliminary injunction and Khalil’s release to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.

Fox News’ Ashley Oliver and The Associated Press contributed to this report.