Detained Columbia student protester must be allowed to meet with wife, judge rules

Detained Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil must be allowed to meet with his wife, a federal judge ruled yesterday according to Reuters.

The order by US District Judge Michael Farbiarz in Newark, New Jersey, comes after Khalil’s wife, Noor Abdalla, said US Immigration and Customs Enforcement denied her request to meet with Khalil at the detention facility in Jena, Louisiana, where he has been held for more than two months.

Abdalla, a dentist who gave birth to the couple’s first child last month, said in a statement she wanted Khalil to be able to hold his newborn son for the first time.

The Trump administration arrested Khalil, 30, on 8 March and is seeking to deport him over his participation in protests against Israel’s military assault on Gaza that has resulted in the deaths of over 53,000 Palestinians.

The State Department revoked his Green Card, which granted him lawful permanent residence, under a little-used provision of US immigration law granting officials the right to deport any non-citizen whose presence in the US is deemed adverse to Washington’s interests.

READ: US: 2 Israeli embassy staffers shot dead in central Washington

Khalil, who entered the United States on a student visa, and his supporters say his arrest and attempted deportation are violations of his right to freedom of speech under the US Constitution’s First Amendment.

Farbiarz, who is weighing Khalil’s challenge to the constitutionality of his arrest, said in a written ruling that Khalil must be allowed to meet with his lawyers and his wife before 10:30 am CDT (1530 GMT) today.

Khalil has a hearing scheduled for today before the immigration judge in Louisiana who is considering his challenge to his deportation, which is a separate process from the case before Farbiarz.

In a court filing, Justice Department lawyers representing the government said allowing Abdalla, a dentist, to join Khalil and his legal team in the meeting raised “security concerns,” without elaborating. They said the facility housed only male detainees.

“There would be security concerns of allowing Dr. Abdalla to join a secured portion where there is no space for co-ed visitation,” the lawyers wrote.

Farbiarz is still considering Khalil’s bid for release.

READ: US government’s case against Mahmoud Khalil lacks solid evidence, relies on tabloid sources: Report