Federal judges and appeals panels are grappling with legal fights over the detention and deportation of noncitizen students and scholars involved in pro‑Palestinian activism. A federal judge in Boston signaled he will issue an order to protect academics who testified challenging arrests and deportations, describing parts of the administration’s approach as authoritarian in tone during hearings. Days later, a federal appeals court panel reversed a lower‑court order to release Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, ruling the lower court lacked jurisdiction and directing claims to immigration proceedings. The split rulings underscore an unsettled legal landscape for noncitizen scholars seeking rapid relief from detention. Campus advocacy groups and university counsel said the litigation has immediate implications for academic freedom, campus protest oversight and institutions’ ability to support noncitizen community members facing immigration enforcement.