Legal fight after second Columbia activist arrested at citizenship appointment
MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS, Manhattan (PIX11) — Attorneys for Mohsen Mahdawi say he went into a Vermont immigration office on Monday hoping to finalize his citizenship in the United States, but instead, he was taken away in handcuffs.
Mahdawi, a Palestinian man who helped lead the protests against the war in Gaza last year, has held a green card since 2015.
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However, he was escorted out of the immigration office by federal agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs
Mahdawi also co-founded the Palestinian Union at Columbia with Mahmoud Khalil, another Palestinian permanent resident who was recently detained by ICE.
More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State
'If you come for one of us, you come for all of us. And we are demanding the release of Mahmoud and every other student activist that is being detained,' said Beth Miller the Political Director of Jewish Voice for Peace
The group Jewish Voice for Peace organized an emergency Passover following the court ruling last week that cleared the way for the deportation of Khalil.
The Trump Administration has claimed that Mahmoud Khalil had anti-Israel views that pose a threat to U.S. foreign policy.
Protests on Monday outside ICE headquarters in Lower Manhattan called the arrests unconstitutional and demanded the release of all pro-Palestinian student activists.
A Vermont judge has issued a temporary restraining order preventing Mahdawi's removal from the state or the U.S. His lawyers say they don't know his whereabouts and have requested for him to be released, adding his detention is 'in direct retaliation for his advocacy on behalf of Palestinians.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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