Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian green card holder, was released from U.S. immigration custody on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, after a federal judge granted him bail. The ruling allows Mahdawi to challenge the Trump administration’s efforts to deport him over his role in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University last year.
U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford ordered Mahdawi’s release, stating he poses no public safety or flight risk and that his detention was likely retaliation for his protected free speech. Mahdawi, who was detained on April 14 during a citizenship interview in Vermont, spoke defiantly outside the courthouse, addressing President Donald Trump: “I am not afraid of you.” He led supporters in chants calling for peace and justice.
The Trump administration, citing a rarely used immigration law, claims Mahdawi’s activism undermines U.S. foreign policy interests, a justification criticized as an attack on free speech. Mahdawi’s legal battle continues as he fights deportation to the occupied West Bank, where he was born and raised in a refugee camp.
