ICE denied Mahmoud Khalil from attending the birth of his son, wife says – National
Noor Abdalla, the wife of detained Columbia University graduate and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, gave birth to their first child without her husband after U.S. immigration authorities denied the couple’s request for his presence.
The pair’s son was born in New York on Monday. Khalil is still being held in detention in Louisiana for his involvement in last spring’s pro-Palestinian protests on the Columbia University campus.
He had asked for a two-week furlough on Sunday morning, noting that his wife had gone into labour eight days early.
His lawyers said he would be “open to any combination of conditions” to allow the release, including wearing an ankle monitor and attending scheduled check-ins with immigration authorities.
His request was denied about 30 minutes after it was submitted.
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Melissa B. Harper, the New Orleans field office director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), wrote, “After consideration of the submitted information and a review of your client’s case, your request for furlough is denied.”
Abdalla said the ruling was “a purposeful decision by ICE to make me, Mahmoud, and our son suffer,” the Associated Press reported.
“My son and I should not be navigating his first days on earth without Mahmoud,” she added. “ICE and the Trump administration have stolen these precious moments from our family in an attempt to silence Mahmoud’s support for Palestinian freedom.”
Khalil was a leading figure in last spring’s pro-Palestinian protests on the Columbia University campus. He did not participate in the encampments over fears that it would threaten his legal status in the country. Nonetheless, he became a face of the movement, speaking with the media and fronting negotiations with the university.
Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil (C) speaks during a press briefing organized by pro-Palestinian protesters who set up an encampment at Columbia University’s Morningside Heights campus in New York City on June 1, 2024. (Photo by Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images).
Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Khalil’s detainment was the first in a Trump-ordered crackdown on student activism and what it claims is an effort to curb the rise of antisemitism on university campuses.
He was arrested on March 8 by ICE at his home in New York. His wife, an American citizen, was eight months pregnant at the time. Authorities threatened to deport Khalil, who is a green card holder.
After a short stint at a detention centre in New Jersey, Khalil was transported to a facility in Jena, La., where he remains.
The day after his arrest, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said that it was undertaken “in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting antisemitism.”
During the Columbia protests, Khalil publicly condemned the targeting of Jewish students.
“There is, of course, no place for antisemitism,” he told CNN last April. “What we are witnessing is anti-Palestinian sentiment that’s taking different forms, and antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism are some of these forms.”
Khalil has not been accused of any criminal activity, but the Trump administration argues that he should be removed from the U.S. for his beliefs and his condemnation of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in Gaza.
Earlier this month, an immigration judge in Louisiana upheld the government’s position that Khalil’s presence in the U.S. posed “potentially serious foreign policy consequences,” meaning he meets the requirements for deportation.
A lawyer for Khalil said the ruling will be appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
— With files from The Associated Press
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