A Palestinian man who led protests towards the conflict in Gaza as a pupil at Columbia College was arrested Monday at a Vermont immigration workplace the place he anticipated to be interviewed about finalizing his U.S. citizenship, his attorneys mentioned.
Mohsen Mahdawi, a authorized everlasting resident who has held a inexperienced card since 2015, was detained on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Providers workplace in Colchester by Immigration and Customs Enforcement brokers, his attorneys mentioned.
The attorneys mentioned they have no idea the place he’s. They filed a petition in federal court docket looking for an order barring the federal government from eradicating him from the state or nation.
“The Trump administration detained Mohsen Mahdawi in direct retaliation for his advocacy on behalf of Palestinians and due to his id as a Palestinian. His detention is an try to silence those that converse out towards the atrocities in Gaza. It is usually unconstitutional,” lawyer Luna Droubi mentioned in an e mail.
Based on the court docket submitting, Mahdawi was born in a refugee camp within the West Financial institution and moved to the US in 2014. He just lately accomplished coursework at Columbia and was anticipated to graduate in Could earlier than starting a grasp’s diploma program there within the fall.
The petition describes him as a dedicated Buddhist who believes in “non-violence and empathy as a central tenet of his faith.”
As a pupil, Mahdawi was an outspoken critic of Israel’s navy marketing campaign in Gaza and arranged campus protests till March 2024. He co-founded the Palestinian Scholar Union at Columbia with Mahmoud Khalil, one other Palestinian everlasting resident of the U.S. and graduate pupil who just lately was detained by ICE.
Khalil was the primary particular person arrested underneath President Donald Trump’s promised crackdown on college students who joined campus protests towards the conflict in Gaza. On Friday, an immigration decide in Louisiana dominated that Khalil will be deported as a nationwide safety danger.
Christopher Helali, a good friend of Mahdawi who lives close to him in Vermont, was current exterior the immigration workplace when Mahdawi was detained and recorded a video of Mahdawi being led away by authorities. Within the video, which Helali launched on social media Monday, Mahdawi is proven giving a peace signal together with his arms and being led away to a automotive.
Helali described Mahdawi as a peaceable demonstrator who has labored to foster dialogue concerning the battle of Palestinians in his homeland. Helali mentioned he and Mahdawi have been conscious that Mahdawi might be detained right this moment and that his good friend went ahead with the appointment anyway.
“And rightfully so, he was nervous for what was happening round him. However he was very a lot resolute in coming to this interview and coming right this moment as a result of he didn’t do something flawed and was a law-abiding citizen, or soon-to-be citizen,” Helali mentioned.
Vermont’s congressional delegation issued a press release condemning Mahdawi’s arrest, saying that as an alternative of taking one of many closing steps in his citizenship course of, he was handcuffed by armed officers with their faces lined.
“That is immoral, inhumane, and unlawful. Mr. Mahdawi, a authorized resident of the US, have to be afforded due course of underneath the legislation and instantly launched from detention,” mentioned the assertion from Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Peter Welch and Rep. Becca Balint.
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