Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, who is in custody of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has been refused to meet and hold his newborn son, TRT World reports, citing the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

“After flying over a thousand miles to Louisiana with our newborn son, his very first flight, all so his father could finally hold him in his arms, ICE has denied us even this most basic human right,” said his wife, Noor Abdalla, in a statement issued via the ACLU.

“This is not just heartless. It is deliberate violence, the calculated cruelty of a government that tears families apart without remorse,” she added.

Khalil was arrested in March in New York City for taking part in pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia. He has remained detained at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Centre for over two months, while his immigration case proceeds in New Jersey.

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