Detained Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil is being allowed to hold his one month old son for the first time, after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration's efforts to keep the father and son separated by a divider.
The visit Thursday came ahead of a scheduled immigration hearing for Khalil, a legal permanent resident in the US and Columbia University graduate.
He's been held in a Louisiana jail since March 8th.
The government had sought to block Khalil from the visit, only allowing him to meet with his wife and newborn son from behind a barrier.
Khalil was the first person arrested under President Donald Trump’s promised crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters and is one of the few who has remained in custody as his case winds its way through both immigration and federal court.
Federal authorities have not accused Khalil of a crime, but they have sought to deport him on the basis that his prominent role in protests against Israel’s war on Gaza may have undermined U.S. foreign policy interests.
His request to attend his son's April 21 birth was denied last month by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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