Ahead of a court hearing, the Columbia University activist was able to meet and hold his newborn son for the first time.

Khalil's lawyers are trying to convince an immigration judge that if he's deported, Israel could target him over his advocacy for Palestinian rights.

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.

Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist arrested by U.S. immigration agents in March, met his month-old son for the first time on Thursday before an immigration hearing,

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

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.