An immigration judge in Louisiana on Thursday denied a request to terminate Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil’s deportation proceedings after his attorneys argued that he was arrested illegally and without a warrant over two months ago.

Khalil’s lawyers are trying to convince an immigration judge that if he’s deported, Israel could target him over his advocacy for Palestinian rights.

The activist, who has been detained in Louisiana for two months, was allowed to meet privately with his wife and child. He is fighting deportation.