US EditionColumbia student arrested during citizenship interview can remain free, court says
- Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian Columbia University student, was arrested during his citizenship interview in Vermont in March 2025.
- The arrest followed government claims that his presence posed adverse foreign policy consequences under a rarely used Cold War-era law.
- Mahdawi and his attorneys argued his detention violated his First Amendment rights due to his pro-Palestinian activism and peaceful protests at Columbia.
- A unanimous three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court ruled Mahdawi could remain free pending legal challenges, stating individual liberty outweighs government claims and denying re-detention.
- Mahdawi’s release prompted Vermont officials to support immigrant legal defense efforts while his deportation proceedings continue under U.S. Immigration law.
21 Articles
21 Articles
'This is a light of hope': Mohsen Mahdawi says release shows democracy is functioning
Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi is fighting against his possible deportation after being detained by ICE and then released by a judge. The Trump administration wants to deport him, saying his presence has "foreign policy consequences." His lawyers say he was detained for speaking out for Palestinian human rights. Laura Barrón-López sat down with Mahdawi to discuss his experience.
PBS Whitewashes Media Deportation Hero (and Pro-Hamasnik) Mohsen Mahdawi
Friday’s edition of the PBS News Hour contained a frustrating interview with the left’s deportation hero of the day, conducted by the outlet’s most slanted reporter, White House correspondent Laura Barron-Lopez. After she and co-anchor Geoff Bennett talked about the release of Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk, whose student visa was revoked apparently because she co-wrote an anti-Israel op-ed, the discussion segued to someone whom Bennett…
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