A prominent organizer of pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University, Mohsen Mahdawi, has been taken into custody by U.S. immigration authorities while attending a citizenship interview, according to his attorney.
Mahdawi, a green card holder and graduating senior at the New York-based university, was detained on Monday in Colchester, Vermont. His legal representative, Luna Droubi, alleges that the detention is a form of “direct retaliation” for his activism against the Israel-Gaza conflict.
He is not the only student protester to be detained. Other demonstrators, including Mahmoud Khalil of Columbia and Rumeysa Ozturk from Tufts University, have also been apprehended in recent weeks.
The BBC reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for further details regarding Mahdawi’s case. Social media footage circulating online appears to show him being led into a vehicle by two officers wearing jackets marked “police.”
Attorney Droubi said, “The Trump administration’s decision to detain Mohsen Mahdawi is a retaliatory act against his Palestinian advocacy and identity. This is a blatant attempt to suppress voices speaking out about the violence in Gaza—and it’s unconstitutional.”
Droubi has filed for a temporary restraining order in federal court to stop immigration authorities from transferring Mahdawi out of Vermont or deporting him. Judge William Sessions, appointed by President Obama, promptly granted the order.
Court documents state Mahdawi was born in a refugee camp in the West Bank and moved to the U.S. in 2014. Now a philosophy major, he is described as a devoted Buddhist who embraces non-violence and empathy as part of his spiritual beliefs. His current location remains unknown, according to his attorney, although he has held U.S. permanent residency since 2015.
As a co-founder of Columbia’s Palestinian Student Society, Mahdawi has been vocal in opposing Israeli military action in Gaza. In December, he appeared on CBS’s 60 Minutes and accused Israel of committing genocide—a claim Israel strongly denies.
Mahdawi’s detention comes during what critics describe as a broader immigration crackdown by President Donald Trump’s administration. Just last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that over 300 student visas had been revoked as part of a campaign to address antisemitism on college campuses.
However, civil liberties advocates argue that the government is mischaracterizing student activism as antisemitism and infringing upon free speech rights.
Senator Bernie Sanders commented on X (formerly Twitter), stating that Mahdawi was “illegally detained by ICE” during what should have been the final step in his naturalization process. Sanders called for his immediate release and insisted he be granted due process.
Judge Sessions also held a hearing on Monday regarding Rumeysa Ozturk, the Tufts student arrested by immigration authorities last month. The judge raised concerns about a potential “constitutional crisis” if the administration refuses to comply with a court order mandating her return from detention in Louisiana to Vermont.
Meanwhile, legal representatives for Mahmoud Khalil are challenging a ruling made last Friday by an immigration judge that deemed him a national security threat and approved his deportation. Khalil was detained outside his Columbia residence last month and is currently being held in Louisiana.
