Mahmoud Khalil holds infant son for first time, over objections from Trump administration

Mahmoud Khalil, the legal U.S. resident detained by the Trump administration over his pro-Palestine activism, was able to hold his infant son for the first time on Thursday.

Khalil, a graduate of Columbia University, was arrested in March by agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Despite possessing a green card and being married to a U.S. citizen, the Trump administration is seeking to deport him, claiming his opposition to Israel's war in Gaza poses a threat to U.S. national security interests.

According to the Associated Press, Khalil, was able to meet and hold his child Thursday, just over a month after he was born. The Trump administration had objected to the meeting, insisting that father and so be "separated by a plexiglass barrier," per the AP.

Khalil, a New York City resident who is being detained in Louisiana, was also able to meet with his wife, Dr. Door Abdalla, The New York Times reported. The meeting took place before a hearing on his case in which attorneys planned to argue that he would be in grave danger if deported.

The Trump administration has sought to deport scores of foreign students who it claims are undermining U.S. interests by speaking out against Israeli actions. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had likely revoked thousands of visas, conflating peaceful activism — including one student writing an Op-Ed in their school newspaper — with violent extremism.