Judge orders Mohsen Mahdawi's release as deportation case continues in Vermont

Columbia University student and pro-Palestine activist tells supporters to 'never give up on the idea that justice will prevail'

Mohsen Mahdawi, centre, at a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University, New York, on October 12, 2023. AP Photo

A judge in Vermont on Wednesday ordered the release of Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian man who led protests against the war in Gaza while a student at Columbia University. He was arrested by immigration officials earlier this month during an interview about finalising his US citizenship.

"The two weeks of detention so far demonstrate great harm to a person who has been charged with no crime," US District Judge Geoffrey Crawford said at the hearing, according to CBS. "Mr Mahdawi, I will order you released."

The judge added that he should remain in his home state of Vermont and attend Columbia, which is in New York, remotely, but added that he can travel to meet his legal team and go to the university when necessary.

Outside the courthouse, Mr Mahdawhi led supporters in chanting “The people united will never be defeated” and “Free Palestine”. He said people must come together in the defence of 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.”

His notice to appear in immigration court says Mr Mahdawi is removable under the Immigration and Nationality Act 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”.

"We stopped giving student visas to people who are coming here to burn down our universities and take over libraries and harass people," Mr Rubio said during a cabinet meeting. "It’s simple. If you’re coming to America to start riots, we’re not going to give you, we’re going to take away your student visa."

Mr Mahdawi is a legal permanent US resident. His lawyers say he was detained in retaliation for his speech advocating for Palestinian rights.

"Mohsen Mahdawi is here in the United States legally and acted legally. He should never have experienced this grave injustice," Vermont senators Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch said in a statement, along with Representative Becca Balint.

The government argues 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. Vermont's acting US attorney said in a release that district courts lack jurisdiction over the case.

Mr Mahdawi was born in a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank and moved to the US in 2014. He recently completed coursework at Columbia and was expected to graduate in May before beginning a master’s degree programme there in the autumn.

At Columbia, Mr Mahdawi organised and engaged in the wave of campus protests that swept Columbia last year. Foreign students who participated in the protests have become targets in efforts by US President Donald Trump's administration to cut down on what it calls rising anti-Semitism at universities.

Mahmoud Khalil, another Palestinian student who participated in the Columbia protests, was arrested in March and was denied leave from an immigration detention centre in recent weeks to be with his wife who was giving birth to their son.

Speaking to supporters, Mr Mahdawi directly addressed Mr Trump and his cabinet, saying: “I am not afraid of you.”