On what was supposed to be a bureaucratic formality, Mohsen Mahdawi—a Palestinian student organizer and longtime legal resident of the United States—was detained by federal immigration officers in Vermont. He arrived expecting a step forward toward citizenship. Instead, he found himself at the center of a growing national firestorm.
According to reports, Mahdawi, who had been a vocal presence in pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University, was apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after showing up for an immigration-related appointment in Colchester, Vermont.
“The fight for freedom of Palestine and the fight against antisemitism go hand-in-hand because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” says Mohsen Mahdawi, co-president of Columbia's Palestinian Students Union. https://t.co/xh91MwzdHe pic.twitter.com/CsBehwMWEc
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) December 6, 2023
Within hours, his legal team and family were scrambling to determine his whereabouts, suspecting that he might be transferred to a jurisdiction less friendly to immigration protections—a practice that has already affected several student demonstrators in recent months.
U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III swiftly intervened, granting a restraining order that prevented Mahdawi from being deported or moved outside of Vermont without further review. The ruling, while temporary, underscored a sharp judicial awareness of the stakes involved.
Rabid antisemite and 16-year Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi has been taken into custody by ICE.
StopAntisemitism exposed his dangerous antisemitic and anti-American rhetoric in 2024.
Justifying, glorifying, and promoting terrorism while a guest in America is no longer… pic.twitter.com/DGyeuCfXAH
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) April 14, 2025
To understand this case fully, one must consider the political moment. Mahdawi, a practicing Buddhist in his mid-30s, helped co-found Dar: the Palestinian Student Society at Columbia, as well as Columbia University Apartheid Divest—a coalition advocating for the university’s financial severance from entities supporting Israel.
His activism spiked following the Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023. While Mahdawi had begun distancing himself from organizing activities—reportedly due to his spiritual practice and awareness of his immigration status—his name remained connected to groups critical of Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
SCOOP: Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi went into an interview today hoping he would come out a U.S. citizen. Instead, ICE arrested him. https://t.co/IAGbJZSYUT
— Akela Lacy (@akela_lacy) April 14, 2025
His critics are not interested in nuance. In a post-election environment shaped by President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration platform, voices on the right have called for the expulsion of any non-citizen linked to pro-Hamas rhetoric or movements like BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions).
Despite Mahdawi never being charged with a crime, and despite statements from Jewish friends vouching for his empathy and bridge-building efforts, the narrative being constructed is clear: activism linked to anti-Israel sentiment equals disloyalty, and possibly even national security risk.