Mahmoud Khalil, the detained Palestinian activist who has become the public face of the Columbia University protests, got to hold his newborn child for the first time on Thursday ahead of his next

Detained Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil has been allowed to hold his 1-month-old son for the first time after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to keep the father and infant separated by a plexiglass divider.

The question of whether Khalil would be permitted to hold his child triggered claims by his attorneys that he's been subjected to political retaliation.

An immigration judge in Louisiana on Thursday denied a request to terminate Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil’s deportation proceedings after his attorneys argued that he was arrested illegally and without a warrant over two months ago.

Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil should be protected from deportation, which could put his life at risk, his attorneys argued Thursday.