An immigration judge has blocked the Trump administration from deporting Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian graduate student who led protests at Columbia University against Israel and the war in Gaza. In a ruling made public Tuesday, the judge, Nina Froes, said she had terminated the case because of a procedural misstep by government attorneys, who failed to properly certify an official document they intended to use as evidence.

The Trump administration may appeal the decision. But the ruling marked the latest setback for the federal government's sweeping effort to expel pro-Palestinian campus activists and others who expressed criticism of Israel. Last month, a separate immigration blocked the government's attempt to deport a Tufts University graduate student, Rumeysa Ozturk, over an op-ed criticizing the school's response to the war in Gaza.