Federal immigration authorities detained another one of Columbia University’s Palestinian students on Monday for his involvement in anti-Israel protests on campus.
Mohsen Mahdawi, who was born and raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank, was taken into custody by Department of Homeland Security agents during his naturalization ceremony in Vermont. A video posted on social media shows officers escorting Mahdawi into a vehicle.
The detainee possessed a green card since he entered the U.S. in 2014 and is therefore considered a lawful permanent resident, Mahdawi’s lawyers wrote in a court filing challenging his removal. The legal challenge alleges that the Trump administration is violating Mahdawi’s First Amendment rights, statutory rights, and due process rights by detaining and seeking to deport him.
“Mahdawi was an outspoken critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and an activist and organizer in student protests on Columbia’s campus until March of 2024, after which he took a step back and has not been involved in organizing,” the court document states.
A federal judge in Vermont promptly halted the Columbia student’s removal from the U.S. or transfer to another state.
Mahdawi previously served as co-president of Columbia’s Palestinian Student Union, a coalition of more than 80 anti-Israel student groups, and is a member of the university’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter. More notably, he said he could “empathize” with Hamas in spite of its massacre of 1,200 Israeli citizens.
“I did not say that I justify what Hamas has done. I said I can empathize,” he told 60 Minutes in December 2023. “To empathize is to understand the root cause and to not look at any event or situation in a vacuum. This is for me that path moving forward.”
Mahdawi recently attended Columbia and planned to return to the Ivy League school this fall to study for a master’s degree, according to his lawyer.
Senators Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), Peter Welch (D., Vt.), and Representative Becca Balint (D., Vt.) called Mahdawi’s detention “immoral, inhumane, and illegal.”
“Earlier today, Mohsen Mahdawi of White River Junction, Vermont, walked into an immigration office for what was supposed to be the final step in his citizenship process,” the Vermont lawmakers said in a joint statement. “Instead, he was arrested and removed in handcuffs by plainclothes, armed, individuals with their faces covered. These individuals refused to provide any information as to where he was being taken or what would happen to him.”
“Mr. Mahdawi, a legal resident of the United States, must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention.”
He is the second Columbia student to be detained by federal immigration officials for the purpose of deportation, the first being Mahmoud Khalil.
Khalil’s legal case was dealt a blow late last week when a Louisiana immigration judge ruled that the Trump administration can proceed with his deportation, although it won’t happen immediately. His attorneys are allowed to file relief applications until April 23. If they fail to meet the deadline, the judge said she will order the deportation.
The Louisiana judge’s ruling was separate from a case in New Jersey federal court that is challenging the legality of his detention.
To justify Khalil’s removal, the State Department is using a provision in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 that grants Secretary of State Marco Rubio the authority to deport noncitizens if the official determines that their presence in the U.S. “would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences.”
Khalil is accused of sympathizing with Hamas and spreading antisemitism at Columbia, home to many anti-Israel protests and encampments since October 7, 2023.