FILE - Mohsen Mahdawi, center, looks on during a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)
Vermont judge orders release of a Palestinian man arrested at his US citizenship interview
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) 鈥 A judge on Wednesday ordered the release of 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 U.S. citizenship.
FILE - Mohsen Mahdawi, center, looks on during a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) 鈥 A judge on Wednesday ordered the release of 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 U.S. citizenship.
U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford in Burlington, Vermont, issued his ruling following a hearing on Mohsen Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident for 10 years, who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on April 14. He has been held at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans.
A judge later issued an order barring the government from removing him from the state or country.
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Mahdawi鈥檚 lawyers say he was detained in retaliation for his speech advocating for Palestinian human rights.
According to court documents, his notice to appear in immigration court says he is removable under the Immigration and Nationality Act because Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined his presence and activities 鈥渨ould have serious adverse foreign policy consequences and would compromise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest.鈥
The government argues that Mahdawi鈥檚 detention is a 鈥渃onstitutionally valid aspect of the deportation process鈥 and that district courts are barred from hearing challenges to how and when such proceedings are begun.
鈥淒istrict courts play no role in that process. Consequently, this Court lacks jurisdiction over Petitioner鈥檚 claims, which are all, at bottom, challenges to removal proceedings,鈥 wrote Michael Drescher, Vermont鈥檚 acting U.S. attorney.
According to a court filing, Mahdawi was born in a refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and moved to the United States in 2014. He recently completed coursework at Columbia and was expected to graduate in May before beginning a master鈥檚 degree program there in the fall.
As a student, Mahdawi was an outspoken critic of in Gaza and organized campus protests until March 2024. He cofounded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia with another Palestinian permanent resident of the U.S. and graduate student who was detained by immigration authorities.
An immigration judge in Louisiana that Khalil鈥檚 presence in the U.S. posed 鈥減otentially serious foreign policy consequences鈥 satisfied the requirements for deportation.
