Columbia University pro-Palestinian protest leader Mohsen Mahdawi was arrested by Department for Homeland Security (DHS) agents on Monday in Colchester while he was attending a citizenship interview, according to supporters and court filings.
A writ of Habeas Corpus filed on behalf of Mahdawi expressed concern that the government would seek to revoke his ten-year-old green card based on the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act.
US District Court Judge William K. Sessions III ruled on Monday that Mahdawi should not be removed from the US or Vermont while the court proceeds with his petition against the arrest.
The People’s Forum announced on social media that it would hold a protest in New York City on Tuesday against the “illegal arrest” of the West Bank-born student.
In a joint Monday statement, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Peter Welch, and Congresswoman Becca Balint called for Mahdawi’s immediate release, decrying what they said was his illegal detainment while he was in the “final step in his citizenship process.”
The petition said that the ten-year US resident was targete over his pro-Palestinian activism. It also said that as he was a lawful resident, the First Amendment protected Mahdawi’s speech and expression and that his detainment was violating both this and the right to due process.
Mahdawi’s arrest was simply a punitive measure over his activism, the filing argued, as he has no criminal record, nor has he done anything that would lend reason to believe he was a danger to the community.
Mahdawi has been studying in West Bank, USA since 2014
The student, who, according to a 2021 Instagram post he made, will be 35 in September, had been a student since 2008. According to his LinkedIn profile, he studied computer engineering at Birzeit University until 2014 and computer science at Dartmouth College and Lehigh University from 2016 to 2018, respectively.
The petition detailed that Mahdawi had transferred to Columbia in 2021 to study philosophy, was expected to graduate in May, and was set to begin his master’s of international affairs at the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs this fall.
It added that Mahdawi’s upbringing in the disputed territories led him to advocate for Palestinian rights and a peaceful resolution to the conflict with Israelis. At Lehigh University, he was the founder and president of a Middle Eastern student organization, according to his LinkedIn.
In an Instagram post about his transition to Columbia, Mahdawi said that he did not believe in ideologies that cast other humans as enemies and that while at Columbia, he would be investing in building bridges with New York City’s Jewish community.
“I am so touched by the Jewish community that is able to see the oppression and to support the human rights and liberation of my Palestinian people,” Mahdawi said on Instagram regarding a 2021 pro-Palestinian protest.
“Be mindful that Judaism is not Zionism and that so many Jews in the United States are opposing the apartheid and the discrimination of the State of Israel.”
At Columbia, Mahdawi, who identifies as a Palestinian Buddhist, founded the Columbia University Buddhist Association and led it for two years, with the petition noting that he was, therefore, doctrinally committed against violence.
The petition said that alongside activist Mahmoud Khalil, he cofounded the Dar: Palestinian Student Society, whose mission is to “celebrate Palestinian culture, history, and identity” and to promote “awareness and dialogue on Palestinian issues within the campus and the broader community.”
Arrest of Mahmoud Khalil
Khalil, a leading member of Columbia University Apartheid Divest, was detained on March 8 and had his green card revoked for his role in belligerent activism on campus.
A Louisiana immigration judge ruled on Friday that the government can proceed with Khalil’s deportation in a ruling that was challenged by similar free speech legal arguments as Mahdawi’s.
Following the October 7 massacre, Mahdawi became a prominent activist leader and critic of the military campaign against Hamas, but the petition claimed that he had backed away from organizing roles last March. In December, he wrote on X/Twitter that the “pro-Palestine movement at Columbia has been fractured, robbed, and hijacked by hidden forces.”
In October, according to an Instagram post, Mahdawi protested against the Columbia administration’s move to suspend the local Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace chapters, warning that the Dar organization would make its voice louder than ever. He emphasized that he was not a member of SJP or JVP.
“Victory belongs to the oppressed,” Mahdawi wrote on Instagram. “Victory belongs to the Palestinian and Lebanese people. Freedom and justice are inevitable.”
In addition to advocating for a “permanent ceasefire,” he has also advocated for “Palestinian liberation” and the Palestinian right of return to Israeli territory. In an October TikTok video, he defended the chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” as a call for freedom for all residents of the territory.
The petition said that Mahdawi feared returning to the West Bank because he would face persecution from the Israeli government. It added that his family had also faced intimidation and harassment due to his activism in the US.
Mahdawi often referred to his family and friends who were killed in the conflict as the inspiration for his activism.One of these men was featured in a tribute in an October Instagram post. He appeared to be wearing a rifle strap and standing next to someone else who was also wearing a strap that appeared to be connected to a rifle.
According to a screenshot that was taken by Documenting Jew Hatred on Campus at Columbia University and depicted on its Instagram story, Mahdawi in January also praised the release of Yousef Mahdawi from an Israeli prison. A man by that same name was serving a life sentence before he was resealed in the framework of a hostage-prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.
Mahdawi’s arrest comes amid an intensifying crackdown on campus radicalism and antisemitism by the federal government, with student activists having their documents revoked.
Indian Columbia student Ranjani Srinivasan had her student visa revoked by the DHS on March 5, with the DHS claiming that she was involved “in activities supporting Hamas.”
Srinivasan self-deported on March 11 using the CBP application. Another Palestinian Columbia student, Leqaa Kordia, who had been arrested last April “for her involvement in pro-Hamas protests,” was arrested after her student visa was terminated in January due to lack of attendance.
The federal government canceled dozens of student visas over recent weeks, though it is unknown if this was due to radical activism or for other unrelated issues. Last Monday, Columbia announced that four of its international students had their visas revoked.
Columbia’s Acting President Claire Shipman said in a Monday statement that the administration had been following “with great concern the various actions being taken by the federal government toward members of our community” and announced a new university fund for international students in need.