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Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi walked free from U.S. immigration custody on Wednesday after a federal judge ruled he should be released on bail while he challenges his deportation, according to a Reuters report. Mahdawi, a Palestinian student born and raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank, was detained earlier this month after arriving for an interview related to his U.S. citizenship petition. His arrest came amid what some say is a Trump administration crackdown on pro-Palestinian foreign students, many of whom have not been charged with any crimes.
U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford ordered Mahdawi’s immediate release during a hearing in Burlington, Vermont, Reuters reported, citing court records. He had earlier barred President Donald Trump’s administration from deporting Mahdawi or removing him from the state.
Following the judge’s ruling, Mahdawi emerged from the courthouse to a crowd of hundreds of cheering supporters, the report said, quoting his lawyers.
“Mohsen has committed no crime, and the government’s only supposed justification for holding him in prison is the content of his speech, Lia Ernst, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), reportedly said in a statement.
Mahdawi is among several university students targetted by the Trump administration for their support of Palestinian causes and criticism of Israel’s actions in the ongoing war in Gaza. Administration officials have claimed such speech poses a threat to U.S. foreign policy.
Civil rights advocates and legal experts say the move is a direct attack on First Amendment rights. “This is about more than immigration — it’s about free speech,” an ACLU spokesperson sai, according to Reuters.
Other students in similar situations include Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil and Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk, both of whom remain in immigration custody.
Speaking to supporters outside the courthouse, Mahdawi reaffirmed his message of peace and solidarity. “We are pro-peace and anti-war,” Mahdawi reportedly said, adding, “To my people in Palestine: I feel your pain, I see your suffering, and I see freedom and it is very soon.”
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