Another Columbia student, Mohsen Mahdawi has been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Mahdawi is a green card holder who, alongside Mahmoud Khalil, organised protests against Israel’s genocide in Palestine. Now, senators in Vermont, where Mahdawi was apprehended have released a blistering statement:
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. Instead, he was arrested and removed in handcuffs by plainclothes, armed, individuals with their faces covered.
Whilst such a form of detention is not unheard of, it is extremely rare. The senators continued:
These individuals refused to provide any information as to where he was being taken or what would happen to him. This is immoral, inhumane, and illegal. Mr. Mahdawi, a legal resident of the United States, must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention.
The Trump administration is evidently carrying out a terrifying campaign of detainment and deportation for Palestine supporters of colour. The manner of Mahdawi’s detention reads more like a state abduction than any form of due process.
Mohsen Mahdawi detention: ‘unconstitutional’
Footage of Mohsen Mahdawi’s arrest has been posted on social media:
U.S. immigration authorities summoned Columbia student leader Mohsen Mahdawi to a citizenship interview in Vermont – and then detained him without charge. He now faces deportation to the occupied West Bank. pic.twitter.com/PdM6LT2G7A
— AJ+ (@ajplus) April 16, 2025
Mohsen can be seen being led away by plain clothes officers wearing hoods. He flashes a peace sign at the camera as he’s brought to a waiting car. Mohsen’s lawyers have, alarmingly, said that they don’t know where he’s been taken. His attorney Luna Droubi said:
We have not received confirmation as to his whereabouts despite numerous attempts to locate him.
Droubi also explained that:
We have filed a habeas petition in the District of Vermont and have sought a temporary restraining order restraining the government from removing him from the jurisdiction or from the country.
U.S. District Judge William Sessions granted the request. Other students in similar situations have been moved to detention facilities in Louisiana or Texas. As CNN reported:
Such transfers underscore ICE’s power in deciding where to house detained migrants – a power that some immigration attorneys say the Trump administration is now using to move disfavored migrants far from their attorneys, families and support systems.
Droubi also made it clear exactly why Mohsen was arrested:
the Trump administration detained Mohsen Mahdawi in direct retaliation for his advocacy on behalf of Palestinians and because of his identity as a Palestinian.
She also said:
his detention is an attempt to silence those who speak out against the atrocities in Gaza. It is also unconstitutional.
Organising
Mohsen Mahdawi’s lawyers have also explained that the Columbia student 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.
Just as with Mahmoud Khalil, Mahdawi is facing deportation under a rarely used invocation. As the Canary previously reported:
Mahmoud has US residency via a green card which are rarely revoked without a criminal conviction. Khalil has no such criminal conviction and is instead facing deportation regardless because the US government:
has reasonable ground to believe that your presence or activities in the United States would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.
Mahdawi was born in the West Bank, and has been a legal resident in the US for 10 years. He’s due to graduate from Columbia next month, and begin a Masters programme at the same university in the autumn semester. Just as with Khalil, Mahdawi’s detention is a punishment for advocating for Palestine, and condemning Israeli genocide.
Campaign of intimidation
Bizarrely, Trump’s administration has claimed that Mohsen Mahdawi, a student, could “potentially undermine” the Middle East peace process. However, as reported by The Verge, Mohsen is well known in the local activist community for reaching out to both Palestinian and Israeli individuals. On the other hand, it is becoming increasingly clear that facts have nothing to do with the Trump administrations dogged pursual of a campaign of terror and intimidation against Palestine advocates.
Mohsen has built a life in the US after being born in a refugee camp. However, that life means nothing to the Trump administration and to border agents. It doesn’t matter to them that Mohsen built a life that featured family, loved ones, study, because Palestinians aren’t humans as far as the Trump administration is concerned. Mohsen has effectively been abducted during what was supposed to be an interview to secure his permanent residency.
The time is far past for pleas to care about Mohsen Mahdawi and Khalil in case it might happen to you. This is happening to Palestinians across the US, and either you believe in their rights, or you’re happy to have those rights trampled over by a fascistic government.
Featured image via the Canary
