Palestinian student remains detained in Vermont with a hearing set for
next week
[April 24, 2025]
By AMANDA SWINHART
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A large crowd of supporters and advocates
gathered outside a Vermont courthouse Wednesday to support a Palestinian
man who led protests against the war in Gaza as a student at Columbia
University and was arrested during an interview about finalizing his
U.S. citizenship.
Mohsen Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident for 10 years, was arrested by
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on April 14. He made an
initial court appearance Wednesday during which a judge extended a
temporary order keeping Mahdawi in Vermont and scheduled a hearing for
next week.
Mahdawi’s lawyers say he was detained in retaliation for his speech
advocating for Palestinian human rights.
“What the government provided thus far only establishes that the only
basis they have to currently detaining him in the manner they did is his
lawful speech,” attorney Luna Droubi said after the hearing. “We intend
on being back in one week's time to free Mohsen."
In court documents, the government argues that Mahdawi's detention is a
“constitutionally valid aspect of the deportation process” and that
district courts are barred from hearing challenges to how and when such
proceedings are begun.
“District courts play no role in that process. Consequently, this Court
lacks jurisdiction over Petitioner’s claims, which are all, at bottom,
challenges to removal proceedings,” wrote Michael Drescher, Vermont’s
acting U.S. attorney.
According to his lawyers, Mahdawi had answered questions and signed a
document that he was willing to defend the U.S. Constitution and laws of
the nation. They said masked ICE agents then entered the interview room,
shackled Mahdawi, and put him in a car.
“What we’re seeing here is unprecedented where they are so hellbent on
detaining students from good universities in our country,” attorney
Cyrus Mehta said. “These are not hardened criminals. These are people
who have not been charged with any crime, they have also not been
charged under any of the other deportation provisions of the Immigration
Act.”
Mahdawi is still scheduled for a hearing date in immigration court in
Louisiana on May 1, his attorneys said. His notice to appear says he is
removable under the Immigration and Nationality Act because the
Secretary of State has determined his presence and activities "would
have serious adverse foreign policy consequences and would compromise a
compelling U.S. foreign policy interest.”
Last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the State Department was
revoking visas held by visitors who were acting counter to national
interests, including some who protested Israel’s war in Gaza and those
who face criminal charges.
According to the court filing, Mahdawi was born in a refugee camp in the
West Bank and moved to the United States in 2014. He recently completed
coursework at Columbia and was expected to graduate in May before
beginning a master’s degree program there in the fall.
[to top of second column]
|
Protesters gather outside federal court ahead of a hearing for
Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian man arrested at a Vermont immigration
office during an interview about finalizing his U.S. citizenship and
a legal permanent resident who led protests against the war in Gaza
at Columbia University, Wednesday, April 23, 2025 in Burlington, Vt.
(AP Photo/Amanda Swinhart)
As a student, Mahdawi was an outspoken critic of Israel’s military
campaign in Gaza and organized campus protests until March 2024.
U.S. Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont, a Democrat, met with Mahdaw i on
Monday at the prison and posted a video account of their
conversation on X. Mahdawi said he was “in good hands." He said his
work is centered on peacemaking and that his empathy extends beyond
the Palestinian people to Jews and to the Israelis.
“I’m staying positive by reassuring myself in the ability of justice
and the deep belief of democracy,” Mahdawi said in Welch’s video.
“This is the reason I wanted to become a citizen of this country,
because I believe in the principles of this country.”
Mahdawi's attorney read a statement from him outside the courthouse
Wednesday in which he urged supporters to “stay positive and believe
in the inevitability of justice.”
“This hearing is part of the system of democracy, it prevents a
tyrant from having unchecked power,” he wrote. “I am in prison, but
I am not imprisoned.”
Meanwhile, the government is appealing a decision by a different
Vermont judge who said another detained student, Rumeysa Ozturk of
Tufts University, should be returned to Vermont.
On Tuesday, members of Congress from Massachusetts traveled to
Louisiana to meet with Ozturk and Columbia University student
Mahmoud Khalil. U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and U.S. Reps. Ayanna Pressley
and Jim McGovern expressed concern at a news conference Wednesday
that the students, as well as other detainees, were being deprived
of nutritious meals, sleep and blankets in the cold facilities.
Khalil and Ozturk have not committed any crimes, the delegation said
-- they are being unlawfully detained for exercising their right to
free speech.
“They are being targeted and imprisoned because of their political
views,” McGovern said.
___
Associated Press writers Kathy McCormack and Holly Ramer in Concord,
New Hampshire, contributed to this report.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
