Immigration authorities detained another Columbia University student in “direct retaliation” for his participation in protests against the Israel-Gaza war, his lawyer said Monday.
Mohsen Mahdawi, who was born and raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank and is a U.S. permanent resident, was taken into custody by the Department of Homeland Security during his naturalization interview in Vermont on Monday, the lawyer, Luna Droubi, said in a filing.
Mahdawi was detained amid a widening and unprecedented crackdown on foreign students. Video posted by a Vermont lawmaker showed three officers, two of whom were masked, escorting Mahdawi in handcuffs to an SUV.
Authorities escort Mohsen Mahdawi in Colchester, Vt., on Monday.Christopher Helali
Andrew Delaney, another one of his attorneys, said Mahdawi is being held in Vermont. A petition challenging his detention says it appears he was taken into custody for deportation.
A federal judge temporarily blocked his removal Monday.
In a joint statement, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., called Mahdawi’s detention “immoral, inhumane and illegal.”
“Earlier today, Mohsen Mahdawi of White River Junction, Vermont, walked into an immigration office for what was supposed to be the final step in his citizenship process,” they said. “Instead, he was arrested and removed in handcuffs by plainclothes, 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,” they added.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Department of Homeland Security referred NBC News to the State Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Citing federal privacy law, a Columbia spokesperson declined to comment.
Mahdawi was detained days after an immigration judge in Louisiana ruled that Columbia student and green card holder Mahmoud Khalil can be deported — even though a federal judge in New Jersey has barred his deportation while he challenges his detention in that state.
Federal officials have accused Khalil, who led students protests at Columbia, of supporting terrorists and harassing people based on their faith. The White House and federal officials have cited a rarely used provision in immigration law that allows them to “remove aliens who pose serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
Plainclothes agents detained a student at Tufts University, Rumeysa Öztürk, after she wrote an opinion piece in her school newspaper criticizing the school’s response to the war in Gaza, according to her lawyers.
Federal officials said last month that hundreds of student visas have been revoked amid the unprecedented crackdown. An NBC News analysis has found that the students, many of whom are Middle Eastern, are from at least 29 states.
According to a temporary restraining order Droubi filed for Monday, Mahdawi moved to the United States in 2014. The filing describes him as an outspoken critic of Israel’s military campaign who helped organized protests at Columbia University until March 2024, when he stepped back.
Mahdawi recently attended Columbia and planned to return to the school in the fall for a master’s degree, according to filing.
Brittany Kubicko and Janhvi Bhojwani contributed.
