Mahmoud Khalil, detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Louisiana, was unable to be with his wife when she gave birth to their son on Monday, despite being over a thousand miles away. His request for temporary release was denied, leading experts to point to a possible pattern of using family separation as a tactic against certain groups.
Dr. Noor Abdalla expressed her distress in a statement released on the day of her son’s birth, stating that ICE deliberately caused suffering to her, Mahmoud, and their child. She lamented that her son should not have to experience his first days without his father.
Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student involved with Columbia University Apartheid Divest, was taken into custody on March 8 after participating in protests on campus against the Gaza war. His ICE detention has made his deportation case a key focus during the new Trump administration. Advocates argue that preventing Khalil from witnessing his son’s birth is reminiscent of the cruel family separation policies of Trump’s previous term.
Khalil’s situation is reminiscent of past family separation policies that sparked controversy during Trump’s first term, and appears to align with his history of antagonism towards Muslims, according to observers. Trump’s “zero tolerance” border policy at the Mexican border in 2018 followed his 2017 implementation of a “travel ban,” a set of policies and executive orders that restricted families from seven predominantly Muslim countries from reuniting in the U.S., among other things.
Yasmine Taeb, a human rights lawyer and progressive strategist who worked to overturn the 2017 travel bans, asserts that family separation is a cruel tactic employed by the Trump administration in both of his terms. She suggests that Mahmoud Khalil’s placement in a detention center far from his support network, including his wife and newborn, was deliberate.
Taeb highlighted other similar cases, including that of Rumeysa Öztürk, a Turkish national and Fulbright scholar at Tufts University, who was arrested by ICE agents on March 25, 2025, after her student visa was revoked due to her participation in pro-Palestinian activism, specifically co-authoring an op-ed in Tufts’ student newspaper, according to the U.S. State Department. Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian green-card holder and student at Columbia University, was detained by ICE on April 14, 2025, during his naturalization interview in Colchester, Vermont. Mahdawi, who had organized pro-Palestinian protests, became a legal permanent resident in 2015.
Taeb emphasized the alarming nature of targeting Mahmoud, Mohsen, Rumeysa, and other students for their advocacy of Palestinian rights.
The Trump Administration has consistently linked pro-Palestinian activism with anti-semitism, a connection challenged by both the and those protesting Israel’s actions in the Gaza war. The conflict began with the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, resulting in 1,200 deaths and over 200 hostages. Israel’s retaliatory measures have caused more than 50,000 deaths, primarily civilians, as reported by Hamas-controlled Palestinian health authorities, whose figures are considered reliable by the U.S. and U.N.
Muslims in the U.S. are concerned not only about being scapegoated but also about the potential consequences. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, numerous Muslim, Arab, and South Asian men were , some under conditions later as “unduly harsh” by the Department of Justice. Many families were left without information about their loved ones for extended periods, compounded by communication that hindered contact through phone, mail, or visits.
Beyond the political implications, family separation has profound , according to mental health experts.
Muna Egeh, a supervised intern psychotherapist at Ruh Care, an online therapy service focused on Muslim clients, describes being separated from one’s newborn child due to systemic barriers as a unique form of heartbreak. She emphasizes that Mahmoud Khalil’s situation is not solely about immigration policy, but also about missing a significant life event. The emotional consequences of such a separation can be long-lasting for both the parent and the child.
In Khalil’s case, immigration authorities had the option to grant temporary humanitarian release for circumstances like childbirth but chose not to do so.
Baher Azmy, Legal Director of the Center of Constitutional Rights and Khalil’s attorney, condemned ICE’s cruelty, calling their refusal to allow Mahmoud and Noor to support each other during this crucial moment an extension of their vindictive decision to arrest and deport him. He believes that Mahmoud’s and his family’s humanity will ultimately be remembered.
Dr. Abdalla directly attributes her family’s separation to Khalil’s political activism, stating that ICE and the Trump administration have taken away these important moments to silence his support for Palestinian freedom.
Civil liberties organizations have expressed regarding the impact on protected speech. Trump in a White House fact sheet “to all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you. I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.”
For Dr. Abdalla, the priority is reuniting her family. She pledges to continue fighting for Mahmoud’s return home and expresses her belief that when he is free, he will teach their son to be brave, thoughtful, and compassionate, like himself.
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