Detained Columbia student freed after judge's order
By: Fernando Corvantes Jr.
USA Today
..... Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi was freed form U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement April 30 [2025] after a federal judge in Vermont ordered his release about two weeks after armed Department of Homeland Security agents arrested him.
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Mahdawi, who was born and raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank was arrested by federal authorities to a naturalization interview. Since then, ICE has been holding him at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans, Vermont.
..... A friend of Mahdawi's posted a video Online of him being taken from the immigration office by Homeland Security officers and placed in an official vehicle. Mahdawi flashed a pair of peace signs with his hands cuffed in front.
..... He flashed peace signs again after his release April 30. [2025]
..... "I am saying it clear and loud to President Trump and his Cabinet: I am not afraid of you," Mahdawi told a crowd of supporters after his release.
..... Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and others form Vermont's congressional delegation labeled the detention "immoral, inhumane, and illegal," saying the legal U.S. resident should be afforded due process and released immediately.
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According to court records, Secretary of State Marco Rubio justified Mahdawi's detention by saying that his "presence and activities in the United States would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences and would compromise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest."
..... Mahdawi's release, which followed an order from U.S. District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford, comes as other college students like Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk continue to fight for their freedom after being detained by federal agents in recent months.
..... "You might think I an free, but my freedom is interlined to the freedom of many other students," he said. "What is happening now is a light of hope. Justice Crawford, who ruled to release me against all of the heinous accusations, horrible attacks, chills of speech, First Amendment violations, he has made a very brave decision to let me out and this is what justice is."
..... Crawford said Mahdawi had exercised his right to advocate for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Gaza and even as a non-citizen resident, he enjoyed the same First amendment free speech rights as U.S. citizens.
..... In a statement to USA Today Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the judge's ruling would not stop the Trump administration from "restoring the rule of law to our immigration system."
..... "It is a privilege to be granted a visa or green card to live and study in the United States of America. when you advocate for violence, glorify and support terrorists that relished the killing of Americans, or harass Jews, that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country," she said.
..... The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to USA Today's request for comment.
..... Contributing: Reuther