Mahmoud Khalil’s wife gave birth to the couple’s first child early Monday while the Columbia University grad was stuck at a Louisiana detention center after authorities refused to grant him temporary release to meet his newborn son.
Dr. Noor Abdalla, 28, delivered her and Khalil’s son in New York Monday morning while he remained in holding several states away as the Trump administration attempts to deport the 30-year-old legal permanent resident over his leadership in anti-Israel protests on Columbia’s campus.
Khalil’s lawyer had asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement to let the Syrian-born US resident out temporarily — and with restrictions in place — so he could be there for his family, but their request was quickly denied, Abdalla said.
“My son and I should not be navigating his first days on earth without Mahmoud. ICE and the Trump administration have stolen these precious moments from our family in an attempt to silence Mahmoud’s support for Palestinian freedom,” she said in a statement.
“I will continue to fight every day for Mahmoud to come home to us. I know when Mahmoud is freed, he will show our son how to be brave, thoughtful, and compassionate, just like his dad.”
Khalil was first taken into ICE custody in early March. The Trump administration revoked his green card and he was shipped practically overnight to a detention center in Louisiana, where he has remained ever since.
He was the first of many international students involved in Palestine advocacy who were suddenly taken into custody by ICE, including a Tufts University doctoral student who co-signed an op-ed regarding the institution’s investments in Israel.
An immigration judge in Louisiana recently ruled that Khalil can be deported, but it’s unclear if and when this could occur. His lawyers will be given the opportunity to appeal the ruling before he can be booted from the US.
Khalil and Abdalla, a US citizen, have been together for two years. A staunch defender of her husband, she originally said she hoped he would be released in time to see the birth of their son.
“I think it would be very devastating for me and for him to meet his first child behind a glass screen. I’ve always been so excited to have my first baby with the person I love,” Abdalla previously said.
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