Washington, April 22 (RHC)-- The Palestinian Columbia University student, who has been detained for more than a month, has missed the birth of his son after the Department of Homeland Security denied his request to be there in person, according to U.S. media reports.

The baby was born in a hospital in New York City early on Monday morning.  His wife, Noor Abdalla, condemned the U.S. government’s actions in a statement.

“I welcomed our son into the world earlier today without Mahmoud by my side,” she said. “Despite our request for ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] to allow Mahmoud to attend the birth, they denied his temporary release to meet our son.  This was a purposeful decision by ICE to make me, Mahmoud, and our son suffer.”

Khalil was able to communicate with his wife for some portion of the delivery, The New York Times reported.

The 30-year-old, who is a permanent resident of the U.S. and played a key role in pro-Palestine protests on campus, is being held in the state of Louisiana, about 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometres) away from his home in New York.  He was arrested on March 8th and the Trump administration is seeking to deport him, accusing him of supporting Hamas and being a threat to U.S. foreign policy.

[ SOURCE: AL JAZEERA and NEWS AGENCIES ]