Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil denied contact with newborn by ICE
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Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, detained by ICE since March, was barred from holding his newborn son during a family visit.
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People protesting in support of Palestinians hold a sign for Mahmoud Khalil across the street from the main gates of Columbia University, on May 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and graduate of Columbia University, was denied the chance to hold his newborn son after US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) refused a family request for a contact visit, his lawyers said on Wednesday.
Khalil, 30, met his child for the first time behind glass during a visit from his wife, Noor Abdallah, who had traveled from New York to the Louisiana detention facility where he has been held since March. The family’s request for physical contact was rejected by ICE officials and a private prison contractor, who cited the facility’s no-contact visitation policy and vague "security concerns".
Abdallah, a US citizen, gave birth to the couple’s first child last month while Khalil remained in detention. She condemned the decision, calling it "deliberate violence" and "calculated cruelty."
"After flying over a thousand miles to Louisiana with our newborn son, his very first flight, all so his father could finally hold him in his arms, ICE has denied us even this most basic human right," she said in a statement.
Legal permanent resident separated from family
Khalil, a legal permanent resident and holder of a US green card, was arrested in New York on March 8. His arrest marked the beginning of a series of ICE detentions targeting pro-Palestinian students and scholars.
He has since been held without due process.
Authorities also denied Khalil’s prior request to attend the birth of his son in New York. He experienced the moment via a telephone call. Abdalla called the decision “a purposeful effort by ICE to make me, Mahmoud, and our son suffer.”
Read next: Mahmoud Khalil among 400 students with visas revoked in US: Axios
In a public letter addressed to his son, published in The Guardian, Khalil wrote, "My heart aches that I could not hold you in my arms and hear your first cry, that I could not unfurl your clenched fists or change your first diaper."
"Like other Palestinian fathers, I was separated from you by racist regimes and distant prisons. In Palestine, this pain is part of daily life… The grief your mother and I feel is but one drop in a sea of sorrow that Palestinian families have drowned in for generations."
Columbia University community protests Khalil’s detention
The case has triggered outrage at Columbia University, where Khalil had been completing his graduate studies. During recent commencement ceremonies, students interrupted speeches by the university president, Claire Shipman, chanting “free Mahmoud” in protest of his detention.
Abdalla accepted her husband’s diploma on his behalf during an alternative graduation ceremony in New York, holding their infant son in her arms.
It is worth mentioning that the Trump administration has invoked obscure immigration statutes to argue it can detain and deport individuals deemed adverse to US foreign policy, even when those individuals engage in constitutionally protected speech.
