Judge Blocks Trump Admin’s Bid to Deport Palestinian Activist Mohsen Mahdawi

Mohsen Mahdawi was arrested by ICE agents on April 14, 2025, while attending his naturalization interview in Vermont.

Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian man who led protests against the war in Gaza as a student at Columbia University, is detained at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Colchester, Vt., on April 14, 2025. Christopher Helali/AP

An immigration judge on Feb. 17 blocked the Trump administration’s bid to deport Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student detained last year for his role in campus protests against Israel’s actions in the Israel–Hamas war.

Mahdawi, a Palestinian and lawful U.S. permanent resident, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on April 14, 2025, while attending an interview at an immigration field office in Vermont for his citizenship application.