Mahmoud Khalil's wife gives birth after feds deny temporary release

Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News on Apr 21, 2025

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The wife of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil gave birth Monday to the couple’s son after federal immigration authorities denied the family’s request for a temporary release for Khalil to meet their first child.

“I welcomed our son into the world earlier today without Mahmoud by my side,” his wife, Noor Abdalla, wrote in a statement to the Daily News. “This was a purposeful decision by ICE to make me, Mahmoud, and our son suffer.”

“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 is still being held in a federal detention center in Jena, La., after an immigration judge ruled on April 11 that the Trump administration could deport him. A federal judge in New Jersey has ordered that Khalil remain in the United States until the court can rule on the constitutional issues at play.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately return a request for comment.

Khalil, a legal permanent resident who served as a negotiator and spokesman during the Columbia University pro-Palestinian protests in 2024, has not been accused of any crimes — but of posing a threat to American foreign policy. The federal government has not submitted evidence of his support for Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.

Lawyers for Khalil have denied those allegations and told The New York Times they requested a two-week furlough after Abdalla went into labor Sunday morning, offering multiple ways to monitor him, including an ankle monitor and check-ins. The request was denied shortly after by the head of the ICE field office in New Orleans. Khalil was reportedly able to speak with his wife, an American citizen, briefly during delivery.

It was not clear Monday when he would be able to meet their son.

“I know when Mahmoud is freed, he will show our son how to be brave, thoughtful and compassionate, just like his dad,” Abdalla said.

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