Mahmoud Khalil’s wife, Noor Abdalla, gave birth to the couple’s first child while the Columbia University grad was being held at a Louisiana detention centre.
On Monday morning, Dr. Noor Abdalla, 28, gave birth to her and Khalil’s son in New York. She said that her husband’s lawyer had asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release him temporarily, with restrictions in place, so he could meet his family, but the request was denied.
“My son and I should not be navigating his first days on earth without Mahmoud. ICE and the Trump administration have stolen these precious moments from our family in an attempt to silence Mahmoud’s support for Palestinian freedom,” Abdalla said in a statement.
“I will continue to fight every day for Mahmoud to come home to us. I know when Mahmoud is freed, he will show our son how to be brave, thoughtful, and compassionate, just like his dad,” she added.
Who is Noor Abdalla?
Abdalla is a US citizen and a staunch defender of Khalil. The dentist was a frontrunner in a Manhattan court recently as her husband’s lawyers tried to prevent his deportation.
Abdalla initially hoped Khalil would be released in time to see their son. “I think it would be very devastating for me and for him to meet his first child behind a glass screen. I’ve always been so excited to have my first baby with the person I love,” she previously said.
Khalil, a green card-holding Palestinian born in Syria, was taken into ICE custody in early March. His green card was revoked by the Trump administration, and he was shipped to a detention center in Louisiana, where he has been held since.
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