Mahmoud Khalil and his attorneys tell judge his life and his family's would be at risk if he's deported

Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil should be protected from deportation, which could put his life at risk, his attorneys argued Thursday.

Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil should be protected from deportation, which could put his life at risk, his attorneys argued Thursday.

Ahead of a critical court hearing before an immigration judge in Louisiana that focused on whether he was entitled to relief from deportation, including through asylum, Khalil met and held his newborn son for the first time. The Trump administration had sought to have the two separated by a plexiglass barrier.

“His life is at stake,” said Khalil’s attorney, Marc Van Der Hout.

Khalil testified before the judge for more than two hours Thursday, describing his life from his childhood and his journey to Columbia University to his campus activism, in which he was a prominent pro-Palestinian voice during last year's demonstrations.

“I spent a good time of my life fleeing from harm and advocating for the marginalized. That’s what put me in danger,” he said. “That is what I was protesting. That is what I will continue to protest. This is what everyone should protest.”