College Student Arrested at Naturalization Interview

Another college student who led pro-Palestinian protests has been detained by immigration officers. Lawyers for Mohsen Mahdawi were scrambling on Tuesday to prevent him from being deported to the West Bank, where he was born. Details:

• Mahdawi was arrested Monday at an immigration office in Colchester, Vermont, when he showed up for a naturalization interview, reports the Intercept.
• Mahdawi was in the process of completing his undergraduate philosophy degree at Columbia, where he organized campus protests in 2023 against Israel's military operation, per the New York Times. However, he stepped back from the protests in early 2024, in part because of his Buddhism. He is friends with Mahmoud Khalil, another protest leader at Columbia who also has been detained. Mahdawi has been a big target of hard-line pro-Israeli groups. (See this social media post.)

• Authorities have not charged Mahdawi with a crime. Instead, they are using the same rationale as used with Khalil, calling Mahdawi a threat to US foreign policy and national security, per the Times. Immigration officials accuse the pair of fomenting anti-semitism.
• Mahdawi is Palestinian and was raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank, reports the AP. He has lived in the US since 2014 and has had a green card since 2015. "The Trump administration detained Mohsen Mahdawi in direct retaliation for his advocacy on behalf of Palestinians and because of his identity as a Palestinian," says attorney Luna Droubi. "His detention is an attempt to silence those who speak out against the atrocities in Gaza. It is also unconstitutional."

(More Columbia University stories.)