Mohsen Mahdawi, the organizer of the pro-Palestinian demonstration at Columbia University last year, was appointed in Vermont by immigration officials after being detained by immigration officials on Monday, his lawyer said, saying he believes it was a step to becoming a U.S. citizen.
Hours later, Mr. Mahdawi's mother, sister and lawyer rushed to find him after he was suddenly detained at an immigration center in Colchester, Virginia. His lawyers demanded a temporary restraining order to prevent federal officials from transferring him to more conservative jurisdiction – a strategy that once expelled at least four other university protesters.
Vermont federal judge William K. Sessions III quickly approved the request, ordering Mr. Mahadawi, an outspoken critic of Israel's military movement in Gaza, not to be evacuated from the United States or removed from Vermont until he ordered otherwise. As of Monday afternoon, they had confirmed he was still in Vermont.
“This is their MO,” said Mr. Mahdawi's lawyer Luna Droubi. “They just keep hiding individuals so that their attorneys can't fully understand or determine where to place the proposed. So, you know, we're operating blindly, they have all the information, but our task is to try to submit in the right jurisdiction.”
Mr. Mahdawi is the green card holder for the past 10 years and is the latest Palestinian student to be attracted to the Trump administration Dragnet, a student that has been targeting foreign students participating in majoring in Palestinians on U.S. college campuses.
Mr. Mahdawi was born and raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank until he moved to the United States in 2014 until he lived in 2014, according to a petition filed by his lawyer on Monday. His arrest was first reported by an interception.
He completed his undergraduate studies in philosophy at Columbia University’s School of General Studies and plans to serve as a master’s degree student at his School of International Affairs in the fall.
Representatives in Colombia declined to comment on federal student privacy regulations.
Mr. Mahdawi has not been charged with the crime. According to his lawyers, the Trump administration appears to be seeking to evacuate the country under the same laws as detaining another recent Colombian student and Palestinian student Mahmoud Khalil, who believes his presence is a threat to U.S. foreign policy and U.S. national security interests. Immigration officials believe pro-Palestinian protesters spread anti-Semitism, but they provide no evidence to confirm the claim.
After the attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, Mr. Mahdawi in the mid-30s co-founded the DAR: Palestinian Student Association to “celebrate Palestinian culture, history and identity”. He also helped establish the Columbia University’s segregation, a broader coalition that continues to lead many pro-Palestinian demonstrations that have evacuated the university from Israel.
However, Mr. Mahadawi took a step back from the student organization in March 2024 before setting up camp on campus and taking over a campus building in Hamilton Hall. He said in an interview at the time that this was driven in part by his immigration status and his belief in being a practicing Buddhist. For two years, he has been the president of the Columbia Buddhist Association.
He spoke publicly about his childhood experience of seeing his best friend be killed by Israeli soldiers and mentioned this in a December 2023 “60 Minutes” interview.
“My motivation is now from love rather than out of anger rather than hatred,” he said in an interview.
Like Mr. Khalil, several hard-line pro-union groups have been inciting online for Mr. Mahdawi's detention and deportation since President Trump returned to the White House.
Betar USA, one of them, released “Visa Holder Mohsen Mahdawi on our Deportation List” on X on January 30. In March, they repeated that the release of “Mohsen Mahdawi is the next step and is on the deportation list”.
He was also introduced to him by Canary Mission, another named the student and called for action against what they claimed was loved ones.
On Monday morning, Mr. Mahadawi participated in an interview he was told about his naturalization. Instead, according to a statement from Democrat Bernie Sanders, two Vermont Senators, Bernie Sanders, an immigration officer covered his face, placed Mr. Mahadawi in handcuffs and arrested him.
Mr. Mahdavi’s permanent address is at the White River junction in Virginia, seeking help from lawmakers before appointment, fearing the worst.
They condemned his arrest and demanded his release.
“This is immoral, inhuman and illegal,” the three lawmakers said in a statement. “Mr. Mahdawi, a resident of the U.S. law, must undergo due process under the law and be detained immediately.”
Jonah E. Bromwich Contribution report.
