Vt. Judge: Release Man Arrested at Citizenship Interview

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.

Mahdawi's 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 "would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences and would compromise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest."

The government argues that Mahdawi's 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 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's degree program there in the fall.

As a student, Mahdawi was an outspoken critic of Israel's military campaign in Gaza and organized campus protests until March 2024. He cofounded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia with Mahmoud Khalil, another Palestinian permanent resident of the U.S. and graduate student who was detained by immigration authorities.

An immigration judge in Louisiana ruled that the government's assertion that Khalil's presence in the U.S. posed "potentially serious foreign policy consequences" satisfied the requirements for deportation.