Overview

• Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and permanent U.S. resident, was denied a temporary furlough by ICE to attend the birth of his first child in New York on April 21.
• Khalil, held in an ICE detention center in Louisiana since March 8, is facing deportation under a rarely used Cold War-era law invoked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
• An immigration judge ruled earlier this month that Khalil's presence posed 'potentially serious foreign policy consequences,' satisfying grounds for removal despite his legal residency through his U.S. citizen wife.
• Khalil’s legal team is appealing the deportation ruling and pursuing a federal court challenge to his detention, while his case has drawn international attention for its implications on free speech and due process.
• Lawmakers and human rights advocates have criticized the Trump administration's crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus activism, citing Khalil's detention as part of a broader pattern targeting dissent.