Jena, Louisiana - A federal judge on Friday denied Palestinian rights activist Mahmoud Khalil's request for release from ICE detention.

US District Judge Michael Farbiarz in New Jersey issued a preliminary injunction on Wednesday barring the government from continuing to detain Khalil on accusations that his presence in the country threatens US foreign policy interests.

The ruling followed a filing by Khalil laying out the irreparable harm he has faced and would continue to face if he remained locked up at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center, where he has been in custody since his March 8 warrantless arrest in New York City.

The US government had until 9:30 AM on Friday to appeal the decision, which it did not do. Instead, it argued it should be able to continue detaining Khalil over allegations he misrepresented information about himself on his greed card application – claims Khalil and his attorneys have vehemently denied.

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Farbiarz decided in the government's favor Friday, enabling the Trump administration to keep Khalil in custody thousands of miles away from his wife and son.

"Mahmoud Khalil was detained in retaliation for his advocacy for Palestinian rights. The government is now using cruel, transparent delay tactics to keep him away from his wife and newborn son ahead of their first Father's Day as a family," attorney Amy Greer said in a statement.

"Instead of celebrating together, he is languishing in ICE detention as punishment for his advocacy on behalf of his fellow Palestinians. It is unjust, it is shocking, and it is disgraceful."

Khalil was a prominent member of the Palestinian freedom movement at Columbia University and served as a mediator between student groups and the administration. His case is part of the Trump administration's crackdown on noncitizens at universities taking a stand for Palestinian human rights.

Khalil's wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, was eight months pregnant with their first child at the time of his abduction. Their son, Deen, was born in April.

Missing Deen's birth and first weeks of life was one of the most immediate harms Khalil said he has experienced during his detention.

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While behind bars, the 30-year-old penned a letter to Deen sharing his first words with his son and the heartbreaking experience of hearing Abdalla give birth over a crackling phone line.

Ahead of Father's Day, celebrity dads showed their support for Khalil by reading the letter in a joint video.

"During your first moments, I buried my face in my arms and kept my voice low," says Dakota and Diné activist and actor Dallas Goldtooth, as Iranian-American actor and director Arian Moayed picks up, "so that the 70 other men sleeping in this concrete room would not see my cloudy eyes or hear my voice catch."

Other excerpts from the powerful letter are read by comedians Mo Amer and W. Kamau Bell, actors Mahershala Ali, Mark Ruffalo, and Alex Winter, as well Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello.

"I am a Palestinian refugee, asylee to America, became a citizen in 2009, and in 2023 I had a son. Mahmoud’s letter is like a dagger to the heart, and that's why I am doing this," Amer said in a press release.

Goldtooth added, "I know that on this stolen land, nobody is free unless we are all free. And so this is an act of solidarity and love for any and all who dream for a better and healthier future for all of us, in all life on this planet."