Khalil, a Columbia University activist who has been held in a detention center in Jena, Louisiana for six weeks, requested a two-week furlough on Sunday morning, noting that his wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, had gone into labor eight days earlier than expected.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement denied Mahmoud Khalil’s request to attend the birth of his first child as the Columbia University student remains held in Louisiana.Federal agents arrested Khalil,