Columbia University Student Mohsen Mahdawi Released from ICE Detention After Federal Judge’s Order

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Mohsen Mahdawi, a 34-year-old Palestinian student at Columbia University and a U.S. permanent resident, was released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, following a federal judge’s ruling in Vermont. The decision comes after Mahdawi’s arrest on April 14 during a U.S. citizenship interview, an incident his legal team described as a targeted retaliation for his pro-Palestinian activism.

U.S. District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford ordered Mahdawi’s immediate release, stating that the student had made “substantial claims that his detention is the result of a retaliation for protected speech” related to his role in organizing pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University. Mahdawi, who co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia in 2023, has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, leading campus demonstrations until March 2024. His attorneys argued that his detention violated his First Amendment rights, with lawyer Luna Droubi asserting, “He’s being detained based solely on his speech.”

Mahdawi’s release was met with cheers from supporters outside the Burlington federal courthouse, where he raised two peace signs and delivered a defiant message to the Trump administration. “I’m not afraid of you,” he declared, addressing President Donald Trump directly, according to ABC News. The judge’s order allows Mahdawi to maintain his permanent residency in Vermont and continue his studies in New York City, where he is set to graduate from Columbia next month and plans to pursue a master’s degree.

The detention of Mahdawi is part of a broader crackdown on international students and activists, with the Trump administration invoking a rarely used provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act to target individuals perceived as threats to U.S. foreign policy. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has justified such actions, but critics, including Mahdawi’s legal team, argue they conflate anti-war activism with antisemitism. Another Columbia student, Mahmoud Khalil, who co-founded the Palestinian Student Union with Mahdawi, remains in ICE custody in Louisiana, facing deportation proceedings.

Judge Crawford compared the current wave of detentions to McCarthyism, noting that multiple individuals who know Mahdawi described him as peaceful. The Council on American-Islamic Relations hailed his release as “an important victory” for free speech, emphasizing that immigrants in the U.S. have a constitutional right to express their views.

Mahdawi, who was born in a refugee camp in the West Bank and moved to the U.S. in 2014, spoke of his experiences growing up under military violence, including being shot in the leg by an Israeli soldier at age 15. In a prior interview with NPR, he expressed hope that “justice will prevail,” a sentiment he echoed outside the courthouse, saying, “Never give up on the idea that justice will prevail.”

While Mahdawi’s release allows him to remain free as his immigration case proceeds, the Trump administration’s efforts to deport him continue. His case, along with those of other detained students, has sparked protests and raised concerns about the targeting of activists exercising their free speech rights.

Sources: The Washington Post, ABC News, NPR, Newsweek, POLITICO

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