On April 14, 2025, Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian student and prominent pro-Palestinian activist at Columbia University, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during what he believed to be a routine U.S. citizenship interview at a USCIS office in Colchester, Vermont. Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident since 2015, was scheduled to graduate in May and had plans to pursue a master’s degree at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs.
Mahdawi co-founded the Palestinian Student Union and Columbia University Apartheid Divest, leading several peaceful protests concerning the Israel-Gaza conflict. His arrest follows a series of detentions targeting student activists under the Trump administration’s intensified scrutiny of individuals deemed threats to U.S. foreign policy.
Legal representatives argue that Mahdawi’s detention is a retaliatory act against his activism, violating constitutional rights to free speech. A federal judge in Vermont has issued a temporary restraining order preventing his removal from the state pending legal proceedings.
The arrest has drawn condemnation from Vermont’s congressional delegation, including Senators Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch, and Representative Becca Balint, who labeled the action as “immoral, inhumane, and illegal,” calling for Mahdawi’s immediate release and due process.
The Department of Homeland Security has not publicly commented on the case.
