Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian Columbia University student who the Trump administration detained during what was meant to be his final U.S. citizenship interview, called out the president Wednesday after a judge freed him from ICE custody.
“We will not fear anyone, because our fight is a fight for love, is a fight for democracy, is a fight for humanity,” Mahdawi said to supporters outside the courthouse after he was freed. “I am saying it clear and loud to President Trump and his Cabinet: I am not afraid of you.”
“That’s right,” Mahdawi added. “And if there is no fear, what is it replaced with? Love. Love is our way.”
On April 14, Mahdawi — a Palestinian-born permanent U.S. resident who’s been a green card holder since 2015 — was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during his citizenship interview. But on Wednesday, Vermont federal judge Geoffrey W. Crawford ordered his release while the case continues.
For months, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has invoked a rarely used provision of immigration law to argue that students like Mahdawi should be deported because their presence in the U.S. and pro-Palestinian activism harm foreign policy interests. The Trump administration has been successful in transferring several of these students to detention facilities in conservative judicial districts.
While this new order does not end the White House’s efforts to deport Mahdawi, it does allow him to remain free while the court battle plays out — and remain free from being transferred to another ICE facility.
Mahdawi on Wednesday also called for an end to the war in Gaza, and for the release of other pro-Palestinian student activists, including Rümeysa Öztürk and Mahmoud Khalil, who are currently detained in Louisiana.
