Last week, Mahmoud Khalil, a zealous advocate for the Palestinian cause and a scholar at Columbia University, was finally able to embrace his newborn son after the swift intervention of a U.S. federal judge. Khalil, who is a legal immigrant and a student of Columbia University, has been perched at the epicenter of the Trump administration’s intensified scrutiny on activists who have voiced their support through peaceful protests for the Palestinian plight on university grounds.
U.S. authorities have yet to charge Khalil with any legal offense. However, he found his green card terminated by the State Department, utilizing a rarely invoked clause of immigration legislation. This clause enables the expulsion of non-citizens thought to pose a potential threat to U.S. foreign policy. This decision has been vehemently contested as baseless by Khalil’s legal team, his loved ones, and multiple acquaintances from Columbia University.
Khalil, aged 30, is originally from Palestine and grew up in a Syrian refugee camp. He first landed on U.S. soil in 2022 as a student holding a visa, and attained the status of a legal permanent resident two years later through his U.S. citizen wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla. This reunion between Khalil, his wife Abdalla, and their young son Deen was highly anticipated, as it marked the first in-person interaction with his newborn owing to his detention in a Louisiana facility since early March.
An attempt by Khalil to be present at Deen’s birth, which occurred on April 21, was ultimately blocked by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The U.S. deportation agency later introduced precautions to thwart any face-to-face meetings between Khalil and his family. Khalil’s legal team argued that this action was further proof of the vindictive intent behind Khalil’s incidental arrest and consequent detention from his residence in New York City.
However, late on Wednesday, a federal judge overturned the prior decision and permitted the family reunion. This followed a nearly 1,500-mile journey undertaken by Abdalla to the isolated detention center. Once the family had been brought together on Thursday, Khalil’s defense commenced a lengthy plea for his case, citing various professional opinions in a bid to convince the adjudicating judge to approve his appeal for asylum.
Throughout this process, Khalil and his attorneys have consistently pushed back against suggestions of returning him to Syria – the birthplace and site of Khalil’s upbringing in a Palestinian refugee camp – or Algeria, which issued him a passport owing to his mother’s lineage. Following a verdict last month wherein the court favored the Trump administration’s stance and declared that Khalil could indeed be deported, the deliberating judge is now in the throes of deciding whether the Palestinian advocate shall receive asylum.
Khalil, asserting his innocence, stated during his hearing that he has been erroneously labeled a ‘terrorist’ by Trump, Rubio, and assorted governmental officials – a characterization which is wildly opposite to reality. This unwarranted exposure, according to Khalil, only serve to put him in the crosshairs.
As a testament to his ongoing hardship, Khalil penned a heartfelt letter to his young son roughly a fortnight ago. It conveyed the emotional torment of his unwarranted incarceration and the bitter regret of missing out on the birth of his son.
Despite these trials, Khalil remains detained, marking his conspicuous absence from the graduation ceremony at Columbia University. His lack of presence sparked outrage among the student body, leading to protests. In lieu of Khalil, his wife accepted his diploma during a parallel graduation ceremony conducted by the People’s University for Palestine.
In her parting statement, Abdalla vocalized her hopes and dreams for their son Dean. She expressed her wish for him to embody his father’s courage and withstand adversity with unwavering resilience.
The post Triumph Against Deportation: Palestinian Advocate Embraces Newborn appeared first on Real News Now.
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