Bernie Sanders, Democrats decry arrest of another pro-Palestine Columbia protestor
Judge greenlights deportation case against Mahmoud Khalil
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani joins ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to break down the legal ruling allowing deportation proceedings against Mahmoud Khalil to move forward and shares an update on the Menendez brothers’ case.
Another pro-Palestine Columbia student protester was detained by federal immigration authorities in Vermont on Monday, amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on alleged Hamas sympathizers who pose potential threats to national security.
Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian-born green card holder living in Vermont, was detained while attending an immigration interview at a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field office in Colchester, Vermont, according to a court filing challenging his arrest.
The arrest has been condemned as “immoral” and “illegal” by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont.
The Trump administration has been cracking down on widespread antisemitism on college campuses, following years of pro-Hamas and pro-Palestinian protests disrupting classes across the country.
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Another pro-Palestine Columbia student protester was detained by federal immigration authorities in Vermont on Monday, amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on alleged Hamas sympathizers who pose potential threats to national security. (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images AP Images)
A video posted to social media on Monday appeared to show Mahdawi being escorted out of the building in handcuffs by law enforcement officials, including one wearing a jacket identifying him as a Homeland Security Investigations agent.
The Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
According to the court filing, Mahdawi co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia in the fall of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack. He founded the group with Mahmoud Khalil, another pro-Palestinian activist who was detained by federal immigration officials under the Trump administration earlier this year.
The document says that Mahdawi was studying philosophy at Columbia and expected to graduate from the university in May. It also says that Mahdawi was an organizer of the protests at Columbia until he stepped back from leadership this March. The filing claims that he is a “lawful permanent resident” of the United States.
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Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil talks to the press during the press briefing organized by Pro-Palestinian protesters who set up a new encampment at Columbia University’s Morningside Heights campus on Friday evening, in New York City, United States on June 01, 2024. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
U.S. District Judge William Sessions ruled on Monday that Mahdawi cannot be removed from the U.S. or the state of Vermont pending further court review.
Mahdawi’s arrest was summarily condemned by Vermont’s two U.S. senators, Bernie Sanders, who identifies as an independent, and Peter Welch, a Democrat, as well as the state’s sole member of Congress Rep. Becca Balint, a Democrat.
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The three issued a joint statement on Monday identifying Mahdawi as a resident of White River Junction, Vermont.
The statement said Mahdawi walked into an immigration office for “what was supposed to be the final step in his citizenship process” and was instead “arrested and removed in handcuffs by plainclothes, armed, individuals with their faces covered.”
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A student protester waves a large Palestinian flag at their encampment on the Columbia University campus, Monday, April 29, 2024, in New York. Protesters of the war in Gaza who are encamped at Columbia University have defied a deadline to disband with chants, clapping and drumming. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
The statement claimed, “these individuals refused to provide any information as to where he was being taken or what would happen to him.”
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“This is immoral, inhumane, and illegal,” said the three. “Mr. Mahdawi, a legal resident of the United States, must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention.”
