Columbia student arrested during immigration interview wins release
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Supporters hold up signs behind Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) during a rally in support of detained Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi in front of the State Department on April 29 in Washington, DC. Photo: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
A judge ordered that Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi be released from custody Wednesday while his case proceeds.
The big picture: Mahdawi's freedom is a defeat for the Trump administration, which has aggressively cracked down on immigrants' speech, but other students and alumni remain detained.
Context: Mahdawi, a legal U.S. resident who was arrested while attending what he believed to be a naturalization interview, is one of several students who advocated for pro-Palestinian causes who have been targeted by the Trump administration.
- While Mahdawi was released from detention, Columbia University alumnus Mahmoud Khalil and Tufts international student Rümeysa Öztürk remain detained as they fight potential deportation.
- Outside a Vermont courthouse Wednesday, Mahdawi called for the release of Khalil, who helped lead student protests at Columbia, and Öztürk, who co-authored an op-ed about the war in Gaza for the Tufts University newspaper.
Driving the news: Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford found Wednesday that Mahdawi, 34, did not pose a danger to the public, and was he a flight risk, the New York Times reported.
- Mahdawi, who has not been charged with a crime, spoke directly to Trump after his release, saying: "I am saying it clear and loud, to President Trump and his cabinet: I am not afraid of you."
- Democratic lawmakers rallied for Mahdawi's release the day prior.
What they're saying: "The Trump Administration is committed to restoring the rule of law to our immigration system," said Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, in a statement."
- She continued, "No judge, not this one or any other, is going to stop us from doing that."
- McLaughlin said being granted a green card or visa is "a privilege."
Catch up quick: Mahdawi, who his attorneys say was born in a refugee camp in the West Bank, was arrested earlier this month by Department of Homeland Security agents, despite being a lawful resident.
- He has been held at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans, CNN reported.
- His attorneys argued the administration sought his removal on the same provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act that it used to detain Khalil, who is also a green card holder.
Zoom out: A judge ruled earlier this month that Khalil can be deported, despite his status as a legal U.S. resident.
- That decision handed a win to the Trump administration in its historic test of immigrants' rights to free speech.
- A federal appeals court on Monday paused a judge's order that would have moved Öztürk from a detention center in Louisiana to Vermont, a freeze that her legal team warns could last months.
Yes, but: Mahdawi's release, which members of his legal team celebrated as a victory for him and free speech rights, could mark a setback to the administration's aggressive crackdown, which has raised legal and humanitarian concerns.
- "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, the legal director at the ACLU of Vermont, said in a statement.
- Mahdawi told NPR in an interview that aired Tuesday that he thinks free speech is "in jeopardy" in the U.S.
- "I think this is a red flag not only to me, but to the American people who care about freedom, the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness," he said. "I have the hope that this country will fulfill its promise."
Go deeper: Columbia protest leader's arrest tests immigrants' free-speech rights
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional quotes Mahdawi gave to NPR and other statements.
