Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian man involved in Columbia University protests, was detained by federal agents on Monday as he arrived for a citizenship interview in Vermont, according to his attorneys.
Mahdawi’s detention comes as the Trump administration is fighting to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a fellow Columbia activist.
According to Mahdawi’s legal team, federal agents informed them that the Trump administration had detained him under an obscure law that allows for deportation if the Secretary of State determines that someone poses “adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
The administration used the same provision to detain Khalil. Mahdawi’s lawyers filed a petition in court seeking his release, claiming that his detention violated the First Amendment.
“The Trump administration detained Mohsen Mahdawi in direct retaliation for his advocacy on behalf of Palestinians and because of his identity as a Palestinian,” his lawyer, Luna Droubi, claimed. “His detention is intended to silence those who speak out against the atrocities in Gaza. It’s also unconstitutional.
The Department of Homeland Security referred CBS News’s request for comment to the State Department, which did not respond immediately.
Luna Droubi, Mahdawi’s attorney, said in a statement that the legal team has “not received confirmation as to his whereabouts despite numerous attempts to locate him.” On Monday, federal Judge William Sessions temporarily blocked the government’s removal of Mahdawi from Vermont.
Mahdawi was born in a West Bank refugee camp and has been a lawful permanent resident of the United States for the past ten years, according to his lawyers. He finished a philosophy program at Columbia late last year and was scheduled to graduate in May before pursuing a master’s degree at the university this fall.
According to court documents, Khalil and Mahdawi founded Columbia’s Palestinian Student Union in 2023. Khalil later spoke at campus protests against Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip, which began after Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Mahdawi has attracted attention in the past. Betar USA, a contentious pro-Israel group that frequently urges the Trump administration to detain pro-Palestinian protest leaders, tweeted a video of Mahdawi in January, claiming he is on the organization’s “deport list.”
Betar spokesman Daniel Levy told CBS News in a statement that the organization has “provided thousands of names of jihadis to the Trump Administration of visitors to America who support Hamas and will continue to.”
Mahdawi’s lawyers claim that he has supported a “peaceful political solution” to the Palestinian conflict. In a 2023 interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” Mahdawi told Bill Whitaker about a campus rally where an unidentified person yelled an antisemitic statement. Mahdawi said he was “shocked” and told the person, “You don’t represent us.”
Mahdawi is the most recent student to face immigration detention. Khalil, who also has a green card, was detained outside his Columbia-owned apartment last month.
The government wants him removed from the country, accusing him of supporting Hamas and engaging in “antisemitic protests and disruptive activities.”
When asked to provide evidence for Khalil’s detention, the government cited a memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio stating that Khalil’s role in protests on the Columbia University campus is incompatible with American foreign policy objectives, but did not provide any evidence of Khalil declaring support for Hamas.
Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University student, was detained weeks later, with her attorneys alleging she was targeted for co-authoring an op-ed in the student newspaper.
Khalil and Ozturk are both detained in Louisiana. Last week, a federal immigration judge ruled that the government can proceed with its deportation efforts against Khalil, but he has until later this month to seek relief.
His lawyers have indicated that he will appeal, and he is also suing over his detention. Ozturk is also suing for her release, and her attorneys confronted the Trump administration in a hearing on Monday.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the practice of revoking visas, writing on X following Khalil’s arrest, “We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.”