Columbia University Student Arrested at US Citizenship Interview Over Pro-Palestine Activism

By Staff, Agencies

Another pro-Palestinian student at Columbia University has been arrested over protests against "Israel’s" merciless aggression on the Gaza Strip, amid the US administration’s mounting suppression of anti-"Tel Aviv" academic rallies.

Mohsen Mahdawi, an organizer of pro-Palestinian protests at the top New York City college, was arrested by immigration officials on Monday as he attended an interview as part of his application for US citizenship.

Video shared on social media apparently shows Mahdawi being escorted into a car by two officers wearing police jackets.

Columbia University graduate Mahdawi was detained in Colchester, Vermont, in retaliation for his campus demonstrations against "Israeli" genocide in Gaza.

"The Trump administration detained Mohsen Mahdawi in direct retaliation for his advocacy on behalf of Palestinians and because of his identity as a Palestinian,” Lawyer Luna Droubi said.

"His detention is an attempt to silence those who speak out against the atrocities in Gaza. It is also unconstitutional."

The attorney applied to a federal court for a temporary restraining order to prevent US immigration authorities from moving the pro-Palestinian student out of Vermont or expelling him from the US.

Defending the Columbia University student, Vermont's three members of Congress—Democrats Sen. Peter Welch and Rep. Becca Balint and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders—called the arrest “immoral, inhumane, and illegal.”

The lawmakers said, "He was arrested and removed in handcuffs by plain-clothed, armed, individuals with their faces covered."

"These individuals refused to provide any information as to where he was being taken or what would happen to him... Mr. Mahdawi, a legal resident of the United States, must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention."

Sanders said on X that Mahdawi "was illegally detained by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) during what was supposed to be the final step in his citizenship process.”

The senator said he "must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention.”

Born in a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, Mahdawi moved to the US in 2014 and co-founded Columbia's Palestinian Student Society.

As an outspoken critic of "Israel's" war on Gaza, he did an interview with CBS' 60 Minutes program last December and shed light on the Israeli genocide in the Palestinian territory.

Mahdawi, along with other students like Khalil, Ozturk, and Doroudi, is facing forcible deportation due to their involvement in pro-Palestinian protests on US campuses.

US President Trump threatens to deport non-citizen university activists linked to pro-Palestine protests, causing daily protests on campuses across the US for weeks.