Appeals court reverses decision that released pro-Palestinian student Mohsen Mahdawi
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit on Tuesday reversed a lower court's decision that released pro-Palestinian Columbia University graduate student Mohsen Mahdawi from ICE custody last year.
Mahdawi, who was detained in April 2025 by ICE agents at his naturalization interview in Vermont, had been outspoken on the Columbia University campus in opposition to the war in Gaza. He was released after two weeks of detention, after a federal judge ruled that he had committed no crime.
On Tuesday, a panel of three judges ruled that the district court did not have jurisdiction when it ordered Mahdawi's release.
The decision comes after the Board of Immigration Appeals reinstated deportation proceedings against Mahdawi, after an immigration judge dropped the case against him. That judge was later fired from her position, the American Civil Liberties Union said.
Attorneys with the ACLU say that despite the court's decision Tuesday, Mahdawi cannot be re-detained or deported while the appeals process plays out.
Mahdawi is one of several pro-Palestinian demonstrators who has been targeted for deportation by the Trump administration under a determination by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that their continued presence in the country poses a threat to the nation's foreign policy objectives.
