Mohsen Mahdawi’s detention comes several weeks after the detention of fellow Colombian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a fellow Mahdawi’s.
COLCHESTER, VA – Mohsen Mahadawi, a student at Columbia University, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) on April 14 in a naturalization interview in Vermont.
The move comes weeks after Mahmound Khalil, Colombian associate of Mahdawi, was taken into custody. This is because the Trump administration has cracked down on alleged support for Hamas during university protests as a result of October 7, 2023, and continues to crack down on Hamas’ support amid attacks by Israeli terrorist groups.
Mahdawi’s lawyers issued habeas protection clauses on the same day as they were detained on April 14th. He alleges that his detention violates the speech and First Amendment on Israel’s military campaign on Gaza, human rights, international law, obligations arising from international law and related issues.
“Mr. Mahadawi fears that if he loses his legal permanent resident status and is taken to the West Bank, he will experience the same harassment, detention and torture that his family has experienced.
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Mahdawi was a legal permanent resident.
According to the submission, Mahdawi was born in a refugee camp on the West Bank and co-founded the Palestinian student group DAR with Khalil in Colombia.
Last week, an immigration judge ruled that the Trump administration could deport Halil after the government alleged that his presence in the US was “potentially serious foreign policy consequences.” Khalil’s team said it would appeal the decision.
After Halil’s detention, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters:
“I think you’re a Hamas supporter and you’re conspiring to come to our university and turn them upside down and conspiring to shut down the agency responsible for destroying… If that were you saying you were going to do when you came to America, we would never have forgiven you,” the Secretary of State added.
A few weeks after the attack on October 7th, the Mahdawi student organization collaborated with the Columbia University Apartheid Dibust (CUAD) Union.
In response to the July revolution in Bangladesh that led to the overthrow of the prime minister, Cuad’s Instagram account praised a statement that appears to support the actions Hamas took on October 7th.
A statement attributed to the people of Hind’s Hall read, “It is now the people of Bangladeshi who are escalating the global battle for liberation, just as Palestinian resistance escalated Intifada on October 7th.”
Submissions from Mahdawi’s lawyers describe him as a Buddhist “who believes in non-violence and empathy as the central doctrine of his religion.” He also claims he opposed anti-Semitism during the protests.
It also claims that Mahdawi “invaded and screamed through the megaphone with Jews and other Israeli supporters.”
The Epoch Times reached out to the ice for comments.
