US judge orders release of Palestinian student activist set for deportation
Lawyers of Mohsen Mahdawi say government can appeal release of West Bank-born Columbia student, who is associated with pro-Hamas groups but has also denounced antisemitism
BURLINGTON, Vermont — A US judge on Wednesday released a Palestinian man who led protests against the war in Gaza as a student at Columbia University, and was arrested by immigration officials during an interview about finalizing his US citizenship.
Outside the courthouse in Vermont, Mohsen Mahdawi led supporters in chants including “No fear” and “Free Palestine.” He said people must come together to defend both democracy and humanity.
“Never give up on the idea that justice will prevail,” he said. “We want to stand up for humanity, because the rest of the world — not only Palestine — is watching us. And what is going to happen in America is going to affect the rest of the world.”
The US government has argued that Mahdawi — a legal permanent resident for 10 years — is removable under the Immigration and Nationality Act. That’s because US Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined his presence and activities “would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences and would compromise a compelling US foreign policy interest,” according to his notice to appear in immigration court.
Mahdawi’s lawyers said he was detained in retaliation for his speech advocating for Palestinian human rights. He co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia with Mahmoud Khalil, another Palestinian permanent resident of the US and graduate student who was detained by immigration authorities.
Mahdawi and Khalil were prominent figures in Columbia’s coalition of anti-Israel protesters, Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD).
The group led protests on campus that included harassment of Jewish students, an unauthorized protest encampment, building takeovers, clashes with police and property damage. CUAD has called for the “eradication of western civilization,” distributed Hamas material on campus, backed calls for violence against “Zionists” and said that “violence is the only path.”
Yet, Mahdawi, who was born and raised in a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank, spoke out against antisemitic rhetoric at a Columbia rally in November 2023, the Columbia Spectator student newspaper reported at the time. He also denounced antisemitic speech among pro-Palestinian protesters during a December 2023 appearance on “60 Minutes.”
Mahdawi’s attorneys say the government can appeal the release, but the judge has allowed him to leave his home state of Vermont and attend graduation next month at the Ivy League school in Manhattan. Mahdawi recently completed his coursework at Columbia and planned to begin a master’s degree program there in the fall.
US District Judge Geoffrey Crawford in Burlington, Vermont, issued his ruling Wednesday following a hearing on Mahdawi. He was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on April 14 and has been held at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans.
The government says his detention is a “constitutionally valid aspect of the deportation process” and that district courts are barred from hearing challenges to how and when such proceedings are begun.
“District courts play no role in that process. Consequently, this Court lacks jurisdiction over Petitioner’s claims, which are all, at bottom, challenges to removal proceedings,” wrote Michael Drescher, Vermont’s acting US attorney. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An immigration judge in Louisiana ruled that the government’s assertion that Khalil’s presence in the US posed “potentially serious foreign policy consequences” satisfied the requirements for deportation.
Outside the courthouse on Wednesday, Mahdawi directly addressed US President Donald Trump and his cabinet, saying: “I am not afraid of you.”
“If there is no fear, what is it replaced with?” he said. “Love. Love is our way.”
The Times of Israel Community.