BREAKING: Federal Judge Frees Columbia Student Mohsen Mahdawi from ICE Detention U.S. District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford has ordered the immediate release of Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian Columbia University student and lawful U.S. permanent resident, from ICE custody in Vermont. Mahdawi, 34, was detained on April 14 during a naturalization interview in Colchester. The judge cited the “great harm” of detaining him without criminal charges and acknowledged his “substantial claims” that the detention was retaliatory against his pro-Palestinian advocacy. “I am saying it clear and loud. To President Trump and his cabinet: I am not afraid of you,” Mahdawi said upon release to loud cheers. He called the ruling “a light of hope” and praised Judge Crawford’s “brave decision.” A philosophy major set to graduate in May, he grew up in a West Bank refugee camp and has lived in Vermont for over a decade. His case is one of several targeting pro-Palestinian student activists, including Columbia’s Mahmoud Khalil and Tufts’ Rumeysa Ozturk. Mahdawi co-founded Columbia’s Palestinian Student Union in the fall of 2023 and led protests against genocide on campus. He was detained under an Immigration and Nationality Act provision after Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused him of undermining U.S. foreign policy—without offering evidence. His legal team, including the ACLU, argued the case violated his First Amendment rights to free speech and due process. Deportation proceedings continue, with a hearing scheduled for May 1 in Louisiana. Videos: @pslnational and NBC affiliate in Vermont.