Palestinian Columbia University protester Mohsen Mahdawi allowed to graduate after being freed from ICE custody
Freed Columbia University protester Mohsen Mahdawi was allowed to stride across the graduation stage Monday — just three weeks after being cut loose from an immigration jail.
3 Palestinian Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi walks during the school's graduation ceremony at the School of General Studies in New York City on Monday, May 19, 2025.
Anadolu via Getty Images
Advertisement
The 34-year-old, who was draped in a keffiyeh, paused in the middle of the stage as he listened to some of his fellow grads cheer him on.
Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident for 10 years, was nabbed by the feds in Vermont on April 14 during an interview about finalizing his US citizenship.
The Trump administration had accused Mahdawi of engaging in 'threatening rhetoric and intimidation' against Jewish students during Columbia's anti-Israel protests.
Advertisement
He ended up being released by a judge two weeks later — and used his graduation to attack the current administration.
3 Mohsen Mahdawi (L) and Mahmoud Khalil participate in a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in New York.
AP
3 Mahdawi (L) graduated on Monday just three weeks after being cut loose from an immigration jail.
Anadolu via Getty Images
'The Trump administration wanted to rob me of this opportunity. They wanted me to be in a prison, in prison clothes, to not have education and to not have joy or celebration,' a defiant Mahdawi said.
Advertisement
'It's very mixed emotions.'
While the feds haven't accused Mahdawi of committing a crime, they've argued that he and other rabble-rousing students should be deported for beliefs that may undermine US foreign policy.
With Post wires
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Politico
12 minutes ago
- Politico
Georgetown researcher targeted for deportation settles with Trump admin
A judge ordered Suri's release from immigration detention in May amid a wave of legal rebukes for the administration's targeting of other pro-Palestinian academics, including Columbia University students Mahmoud Khalil, Mohsen Mahdawi and Yunseo Chung, as well as Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to permit Suri to remain free while his lawsuit was pending. Despite his release, immigration court proceedings that could lead to Suri's deportation continued. In addition, Suri's civil litigation continued in the Virginia court as he sought the reinstatement of his legal status in a Department of Homeland Security database that tracks immigrant students and researchers permitted into the country. The deal revealed Tuesday will likely obviate the need for a hearing that was set for Friday in federal court in Alexandria over his bid for reinstatement. ICE had terminated Suri's record in the system in March, which made it difficult for him to continue his academic work. The termination also extended to his two young children, whose student status in the U.S. was linked to their father's. Suri's wife, Mapheze Saleh, is a U.S. citizen. But her father's former role advising Hamas leadership figured into the Trump administration's decision to target Suri. Under the settlement, the Trump administration has agreed to maintain Suri's student status unless officials become aware of a 'newly discovered, independent legal ground' to take action against him — and give him 21 days notice before acting on it. It also made the reinstatement of his status retroactive to March 18. Suri and the other academics' arrests were the centerpiece of a recent trial in Massachusetts, where U.S. District Judge William Young is weighing whether the administration engaged in an unconstitutional policy of targeting immigrants based on their protected free speech.
New York Times
12 minutes ago
- New York Times
Wednesday Briefing: Netanyahu's Next Steps in Gaza
Netanyahu is weighing what to do next in Gaza Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, discussed the path forward in the war in Gaza during a meeting yesterday with the military's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir. The general presented 'the options for continuing the military campaign in Gaza,' the prime minister's office said, without specifying what they were. Netanyahu's office also told some Israeli reporters that the prime minister might expand military operations across all of the Gaza Strip. Three officials briefed on the matter cautioned that no decision had been made about the way forward. Israel, facing growing international condemnation over starvation in Gaza, is now allowing some private businesses to deliver goods to the enclave and is trying to refocus attention on the plight of hostages held by Hamas. At a meeting of the U.N. Security Council in New York, diplomats denounced Hamas but also called for Israel to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Related: The war in Gaza has put Germany, which has a unique relationship with Israel because of the Holocaust, into an uncomfortable position. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Fox News
12 minutes ago
- Fox News
Consul general of Israel in NY urges that there is 'no starvation in the Gaza Strip'
Consul General of Israel in New York Ofir Akunis stresses caution of what Hamas can do should it not be stopped on 'America Reports.'
