CAIR Condemns ICE Refusal to Allow Mahmoud Khalil to Attend His Son’s Birth an ‘Act of Sheer Cruelty’
- April 22, 2025
- 1:06 pm
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned a refusal by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to allow Columbia University anti-genocide activist Mahmoud Khalil to attend the birth of his son as “an act of sheer cruelty.”
Khalil’s wife gave birth to their son yesterday while he remained held in an ICE detention center more than 1,000 miles away in Louisiana.
In a statement, CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“ICE’s refusal to even briefly release Mahmoud Khalil under supervision so that he could attend the birth of his son is an act of sheer cruelty and it was carried out to satisfy the Israeli government and its supporters.
“Although the Trump administration chants ‘America First,’ praises Christian values and claims to support free speech, its words ring hollow amid the abusive treatment of Mahmoud Khalil and other students whose only crime is opposing a genocide.
“We stand in solidarity with Mahmoud Khalil, and we pray that he will soon be able to embrace his newborn son, despite the cruelty of our government.”
Earlier this month, CAIR said ruling by a U.S. immigration judge in Louisiana that can be deported for his peaceful political activities and beliefs is a “dangerous, unconstitutional” decision that must not stand. The judge gave Khalil’s attorneys until April 23 to request relief to stop his deportation.
The New York chapter of CAIR (CAIR-NY) has previously condemned the wrongful arrest of Mahmoud Khalil and demanded his release. CAIR has also announced a call to action urging people to contact members of congress and demand Khalil’s release.
SEE: CAIR-NY Condemns Arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, Calls for Immediate Release
SEE: CAIR Action Alert: Free Mahmoud Khalil
Last month, CAIR’s national office and the law firm of Dratel & Lewis announced the filing of a federal lawsuit on behalf of Khalil and other Columbia University students against Columbia University and the Committee on Education and Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives regarding the Congressional request to disclose thousands of student records.
Hundreds of students face deportation in a Trump administration crackdown on those who have spoken out against the far-right Israeli government’s genocide targeting the Palestinian people.
SEE: US revokes nearly 1,700 student visas: Who are the targets?
CAIR chapters nationwide have spoken out against the campaign to silence criticism of Israel’s genocide.
END
CONTACT: Afaf Nasher, Esq., CAIR-NY Executive Director, anasher@cair.com, 917-669-4006;
CAIR-NY Communications Team, comms@ny.cair.com; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com
Reprinted from today’s (April 22, 2025) newsletter.
