"I think it would be very devastating for me and for him to meet his first child behind a glass screen," his wife, who is eight months pregnant, told Reuters.

A U.S. green card holder faces deportation after helping lead student protests at Columbia University in New York last spring over the war in Gaza.

Palestinian activist and former Columbia University grad student Mahmoud Khalil, who played a significant role in the Gaza protests at Columbia last year, was arrested by federal immigration authorities.