An anti-Israel protester from Columbia University was arrested on Monday by immigration officials while he was halfway through an appointment in Vermont to get his U.S. citizenship. Mohsen Madawi, a Palestinian student from the West Bank, was arrested at a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office in Burlington, the Intercept reported.
Madawi has been living in the U.S. for more than 10 years and already holds a green card. However, it now appears that the Madawi's stay in the United States could be cut short by the Trump administration after he was found to be involved in anti-Israel demonstrations at Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus up until last spring.
End of the Road
A video shared on X on Monday appeared to show Mahdawi in handcuffs being led by federal agents who then put him into an unmarked car. "It's kind of a death sentence," Mahdawi, who previously led Columbia's Palestinian student union, said, according to the Intercept.
"Because my people are being killed unjustly in an indiscriminate way."
Mahdawi's lawyer, Luna Droubi, told the Intercept that he was wrongfully arrested for "no reason other than his Palestinian activity." "He came to this country hoping to be free to speak out about the atrocities he has witnessed, only to be punished for such speech," she added.
Columbia University refused to comment citing obligations under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The Department of Homeland Security and the State Department also has refrained from making any comments on the issue.
Mahdawi, who is also a friend of another detained anti-Israel Columbia protester Mahmoud Khalil, is likely to be singled out in the Trump administration's large-scale deportation campaign, the outlet reported. He went into hiding fearing for his safety and contacted the university for help in finding him a safe shelter.
However, Mahdawi claims that Columbia didn't entertain his pleas.
No Space in America
While Mahdawi kept hiding in order to avoid arrest, he was sent a notice by the USCIS informing him that his citizenship interview had been rescheduled earlier than he expected, which was originally expected to take place in December or January. Mahdawi grew suspicious with the sudden change in date and raised doubts that it could be a trap.
However, he still went for the for the rescheduled appointment this week and was arrested by the immigration officials, The Intercept reported.
The FBI also reached out to Mahdawi late last year but decided not to arrest or take any action against him at the time.
Mahdawi appeared on "60 Minutes" in December 2023, where he slammed the then-Columbia President Minouche Shafik for his reaction to Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, saying he failed to understand the pain and sufferings faced by Palestinians, according to The Intercept.
"That's why they're crushing universities now, it's not only about Palestine. People ask me why I would want to become a citizen of a country committing genocide. I have faith in the people living in this country. The government is not the people," Mahdawi said during the interview.
