Release of Palestinian student activist arrested at citizenship interview

by ALEXX ALTMAN-DEVILBISS | The National News DeskWed, April 30th 2025 at 8:18 AM

BURLINGTON, Vt. (TNND) — A judge on Wednesday ordered the release of a Palestinian student activist who led protests against the war in Gaza at Columbia University and was arrested by immigration officers while waiting for an interview to become a U.S. citizen.

U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford in Vermont issued the ruling after a hearing on Mohsen Mahdawi, a legal resident who has held a green card since 2015. He was being held at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans.

A judge also issued an order preventing the government from removing him from the state or country.

Mahdawi was a prominent activist in the protests at Columbia over the war in Gaza alongside Mahmoud Khalil, who the Trump administration detained in March. An immigration judge ruled that Khalil can be deported as a national security risk ...

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