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Son Born to Wife of Detained Columbia University Student
The spouse of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student currently in detention, announced the arrival of their newborn son on Monday. She shared the poignant detail that her husband was unable to be present for the birth. Khalil, who gained prominence during pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the university, remains in custody while facing deportation proceedings.
Absence at Child’s Birth
Dr. Noor Abdalla, a dentist from Michigan and Khalil’s wife, was with him when federal agents apprehended him on March 8. She stated that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rejected her plea for Khalil to be temporarily released to attend his son’s birth.
“Despite our formal request to ICE to permit Mahmoud’s attendance at the birth, they refused temporary leave for him to meet our son,” Abdalla conveyed in a public statement released Monday. “ICE made a deliberate choice to inflict suffering upon me, Mahmoud, and our child.”
Detention Background
Representatives for the couple have not yet responded to inquiries about the baby’s name. ICE has also not yet issued a public response to requests for comment.
Khalil, who spent his childhood in a Palestinian refugee camp located in Syria, obtained permanent U.S. residency status in the prior year. He became a notable figure during pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations at Columbia University, acting as a negotiator between student demonstrators participating in an encampment and university administrators in New York City.
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Federal officials, including an agent from Homeland Security Investigations, took Khalil into custody at his residence in a campus housing complex. According to Abdalla, he was detained upon his return from iftar, the evening meal that concludes the daily fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
“Even after viewing his green card, they insisted on taking him into custody,” Abdalla asserted in court documents challenging the legality of Khalil’s arrest and the denial of bail.
Legal Justification and Challenges
The legal basis for Khalil’s ongoing detention remained unclear until three days following his arrest. At that time, the State Department issued a statement indicating that the Secretary of State holds the authority, under a rarely invoked federal statute, to deport any noncitizen considered to potentially pose “serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
Federal authorities subsequently asserted that Khalil misrepresented facts on his application for permanent residency, which constitutes grounds for deportation. However, an NBC News review of evidence submitted in the case revealed that this allegation is based on unsubstantiated tabloid articles – some of which surfaced after Khalil completed his residency application – and distortions of his professional activities and activism.
An immigration judge in Louisiana recently decided that the Secretary of State possesses the authority to proceed with Khalil’s deportation. Khalil’s legal team is contesting this ruling, with a deadline of Wednesday before it takes effect. They have also initiated a separate appeal in federal criminal court in New Jersey challenging the legality of his initial arrest.
Wife Condemns Detention
“Mahmoud remains unjustly imprisoned in an ICE detention facility situated over 1,000 miles from his newborn son,” Abdalla stated on Monday. “My son and I should not be forced to navigate his initial days of life without Mahmoud present. ICE and the actions of the prior presidential administration have stolen these treasured early moments from our family in a bid to suppress Mahmoud’s advocacy for Palestinian liberation.”
Khalil’s legal representatives contend that his arrest was motivated by his constitutionally protected right to free speech and his involvement in the prior year’s pro-Palestinian student protest movement.
Political Context
A U.S. Senator remarked last month that the State Department had revoked the student visas of campus protestors he characterized as “lunatics.”
A former Homeland Security Secretary previously accused Khalil of instilling fear in Jewish students while allegedly supporting terrorists. Following his arrest, she declared that he “hates the United States and what we stand for.”
In contrast, Khalil’s legal team has presented evidence demonstrating that he welcomed support from Jewish protestors during prior campus events and refuted any claims that he has ever provided assistance to Hamas or any other designated terrorist organizations.
Pledge to Continue Fight
“I will persist in fighting every day to bring Mahmoud back home to us,” Abdalla affirmed on Monday. “I am certain that upon Mahmoud’s release, he will teach our son to embody bravery, thoughtfulness, and compassion, mirroring his father’s character.”