Mahmoud Khalil: Jailed Activist Testifies Before Immigration Judge and Holds His Child for First Time

Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil testified at his asylum hearing on Thursday, telling an immigration judge in Jena, Louisiana, that his deportation from the United States could lead to his assassination, kidnapping, torture." Hours before the hearing, Khalil was allowed to meet and hold his 1-month-old son Deen for the first time. The emotional moment came after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration's efforts to keep Khalil behind a plexiglass barrier for a visit with his wife and infant son.

Khalil's legal team has raised concerns about the impartiality of immigration judges overseeing the case. They serve at the pleasure of the president, and this is a president who has not been shy about firing immigration judges," says Ramzi Kassem, part of the legal team representing Mahmoud Khalil.