A federal judge in Vermont on Wednesday ordered the release of Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian student and legal U.S. resident who had been detained by immigration authorities during his naturalization interview earlier this month. The case has drawn national attention amid intensifying scrutiny over the government's treatment of pro-Palestinian activists on U.S. campuses.
U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford ruled that the federal government had not demonstrated a compelling justification for Mahdawi's continued detention, stating in court that "the two weeks of detention so far demonstrate great harm to a person who has been charged with no crime."
Mahdawi, 34, a Columbia University student and longtime lawful permanent resident, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on April 14 in Colchester, Vermont. The arrest came during an interview regarding his application for U.S. citizenship and followed months of advocacy on behalf of Palestinian human rights.
Crawford noted that the evidence presented "suggests that Mr. Mahdawi is neither a flight risk or a danger to the community," and that his detention "would likely have a chilling effect on protected speech." He authorized Mahdawi's release pending ongoing federal and immigration court proceedings.
In a court filing, federal prosecutors cited a determination by Secretary of State Marco Rubio stating that Mahdawi's presence and activities in the U.S. "would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences and would compromise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest." The claim has been challenged by civil liberties groups as an overreach designed to silence political dissent.
Mahdawi, who immigrated to the U.S. in 2014 after being born in a refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, had co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia and was active in organizing protests on campus until March. His arrest sparked widespread protests and condemnation from lawmakers, including Senator Bernie Sanders.
"Not only was this action cruel and inhumane, most importantly," Sanders said at a rally outside the State Department. "It was illegal, it was unconstitutional."
Vermont's Senate passed a resolution this week condemning the circumstances of Mahdawi's arrest and urging that he "be afforded due process." The vote followed a hearing where state legislators expressed concern that Mahdawi was targeted for exercising constitutionally protected speech.
Mahdawi walked free on Wednesday morning from the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans, Vermont, where he had been held since his arrest. Outside the facility, he thanked supporters and said: "For anybody who is doubting justice, this is a light of hope and faith in the justice system in America."
He added, "We are witnessing the fight for justice in America, which means a true democracy, and the fight for justice for Palestinians, which means that both liberations are interconnected. Because no one of us is free unless we all are."
Shezza Abboushi Dallal, one of Mahdawi's attorneys, described the court's decision as "a victory for all people in this country invested in their ability to dissent and speak and protest for causes they are morally drawn to."
