Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prevented detained Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil from holding his newborn son during a family visit, according to a report published by CBS News citing his legal team.

Khalil, 30, met his month-old baby for the first time behind a glass partition at a detention center in Louisiana, where he has been held since March. His wife, Noor Abdalla, traveled from New York for the visit, hoping for a contact meeting.

However, ICE officials and the private contractor operating the facility denied the family’s request for physical contact, citing the detention center’s no-contact visitation policy and vague “security concerns,” Khalil’s lawyers said.