A Palestinian activist accused of leading anti-Israel protests at Columbia University will not be deported from the United States, Judge Nina Froes ruled.
According to Froes, the Trump administration failed to certify a document it wanted to use as evidence. The procedural error led to the end of Mahdawi’s removal proceedings. The non-certified document, a memo by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, read that Mahdawi’s “presence and activities in the United States would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences and would compromise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest,” NBC News reports.
“I am grateful to the court for honoring the rule of law and holding the line against the government’s attempts to trample on due process,” Mahdawi said in a statement. “This decision is an important step towards upholding what fear tried to destroy: the right to speak for peace and justice. Nearly a year ago, I was detained at my citizenship interview not for breaking the law but for speaking against the genocide of Palestinians.”
A Homeland Security spokesperson told The Hill that it is a “privilege to be granted a visa or green card to live and study in the United States of America. When you advocate for violence, glorify and support terrorists that relish the killing of Americans, and harass Jews, that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country.”
“No activist judge, not this one or any other, is going to stop us from doing that,” the spokesperson added.
In an April 2025 brief submitted by the Department of Justice, officials argued that Mahdawi admitted to “being involved in and supporting pro-terrorist acts of violence,” DHS said last year. He also allegedly told a gun shop owner that he had “considerable firearm experience” and used guns to “kill Jews while he was in Palestine.”
