In a dramatic and controversial turn of events, Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi was detained by U.S. immigration officials on Monday when he arrived at a Vermont immigration office, expecting to complete the final step of his U.S. citizenship process. Instead, Mahdawi — a longtime resident of Vermont and an organizer of pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University — was taken away in handcuffs, sparking national outrage and legal action.
According to CNN, the incident occurred at the USCIS facility in Colchester, Vermont, where Mahdawi has lived for years. His lawyer, Luna Droubi, alleges that the detention was politically motivated and a direct retaliation for his activism and Palestinian identity.
“The Trump administration detained Mohsen Mahdawi in direct retaliation for his advocacy on behalf of Palestinians… It is also unconstitutional,” said Droubi in a statement to CNN.
Mahdawi, who grew up in a refugee camp in the West Bank, has lived in the United States for over a decade and holds lawful permanent resident (green card) status. He began his naturalization process in 2024 and was planning to join a master’s program later this year.
His arrest has triggered strong condemnation from Vermont’s congressional delegation — Senators Bernie Sanders, Peter Welch, and Representative Becca Balint — who issued a joint statement calling the detention “immoral, inhumane, and illegal.”
“Instead of completing the final step of his citizenship process, Mr. Mahdawi was arrested and removed in handcuffs by plainclothes, armed individuals with their faces covered,” read the statement.
“Mr. Mahdawi… must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention.”
In response to a habeas corpus petition filed on his behalf, Vermont District Court Judge William Sessions issued a temporary restraining order, prohibiting Mahdawi’s removal from both Vermont and the United States. Despite this legal protection, concerns remain about possible transfer to distant ICE detention centers, which has happened in similar cases.
Mahdawi is the second Palestinian Columbia student with a green card to be detained by immigration authorities in recent months. Mahmoud Khalil, a fellow protest leader, was arrested in March, adding to the growing concerns among rights advocates about targeted immigration enforcement against student activists.
Droubi warned that the government may still attempt to transfer Mahdawi, violating the judge’s order:
“If they now choose to move him from Vermont, it will have been with full knowledge of the court’s order telling them not to.”
Students like Mahdawi and Khalil were central figures in last year’s high-profile demonstrations at Columbia University condemning violence in Gaza. While Mahdawi reportedly stepped back from activism in March 2024, the reverberations of those protests continue to influence national debate around free speech, immigration, and political dissent.
As of now, Mahdawi remains in Vermont, awaiting further court proceedings. Advocacy groups and legal experts are closely watching the case, warning it could set a troubling precedent for how political activism intersects with immigration law in the United States.