Detained Palestinian student must remain in Vermont, judge says
Mohsen Mahdawi — a Palestinian student who was detained by immigration agents at a U.S. citizenship interview last week — must remain in Vermont for at least 90 days while his legal team pushes for his release, a federal judge said Wednesday, according to Mahdawi's lawyers.
In a Vermont court hearing, U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford indicated he will extend a restraining order issued by another judge last week blocking the government from deporting Mahdawi or transferring him to another state, his legal team said in a statement.
Crawford scheduled another hearing in Mahdawi's case for next week. A separate hearing in immigration court is also set for May 1 in Louisiana, according to Mahdawi's legal team, though the status of that court appearance is unclear.
Mahdawi's attorneys argue the Trump administration is seeking to deport Mahdawi because he helped lead pro-Palestinian protests on Columbia's campus in the early months of the Israel-Hamas war, in violation of his First Amendment rights.
Mahdawi alleges he was detained under an obscure law allowing the government to revoke a visa if the secretary of state determines somebody could pose "adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States." The Trump administration used the same argument to detain fellow Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil — who, like Mahdawi, has a green card — and Tufts University student Rümeysa Öztürk. Khalil and Öztürk are both suing for their release.
"Today, we once again saw that the government has no basis, whatsoever, for Mohsen Mahdawi's detention other than their own admission that they detained Mohsen on the basis of his speech," Mahdawi's attorney Luna Droubi said in a statement. "Their claims and actions are baseless, without evidence, and are a disgrace to the US constitution. We plan to return to Vermont next week to argue in court and free Mohsen."
The Trump administration has argued it has the legal right to revoke Mahdawi, Khalil and Öztürk's visas. The government also argues that the Vermont federal court doesn't have jurisdiction over Mahdawi's case.
"It is a privilege to be granted a visa or green card to live and study in the United States of America," Homeland Security assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to CBS News. "When you advocate for violence, glorify and support terrorists that relish the killing of Americans, and harass Jews, that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country."
Mahdawi has pushed back against allegations of antisemitism in the Columbia protests. In an interview with CBS News a day before his arrest, Mahdawi said, "I want people to know that my compassion extended beyond the Palestinian people. My compassion is also for the Jewish people and for the Israelis as well." He also says he took a step back from the protests before students formed encampments on Columbia's campus and took over a school building last year.
A native of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Mahdawi has lived in the U.S. for over a decade and was set to receive a bachelor's degree from Columbia in philosophy next month. Mahdawi co-founded Columbia's Palestinian Student Union along with Khalil in 2023.
His role in protests on Columbia's campus drew the attention of the controversial pro-Israel group Betar USA, which tweeted earlier this year he is on its "deport list." The group told CBS News this month it has "provided thousands of names of jihadis to the Trump Administration of visitors to America who support Hamas and will continue to."
After Khalil's late March arrest, Mahdawi told CBS News national correspondent Lilia Luciano he feared federal agents could seek him out next. When he received word that he would get a citizenship hearing, he said he feared the appointment could be a trap.
"It's the first feeling of like, I've been waiting for this for more than a year," Mahdawi told CBS News before his detention. "And the other feeling is like, wait a minute. Is this a honey trap?"
