June 12, 2026
The government alleges that Mahdawi’s speech on behalf of Palestinian rights merits his deportation.
Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
Columbia University graduate student Mohsen Mahdawi is fighting the Trump administration after a judge ordered him deported last week for his pro-Palestinian activism.
The Trump administration jailed Mahdawi last year for 16 days for his protest activities but appeared to lose its fight to remove him from the country in February when an immigration judge terminated removal proceedings against him. (The Trump administration later removed two judges who ruled against its efforts to deport Mahdawi and another international student, Rümeysa Öztürk, for participating in activities protected by the First Amendment.)
