A Palestinian migrant and campus protest leader who advocated for the destruction of Israel has been released from a federal deportation facility by an Obama-appointed judge, despite longstanding Trump-era policy prioritizing the removal of those who espouse hateful or extremist ideologies.
Mohsen Mahdawi, held in Vermont pending deportation, was ordered released by Judge Geoffrey Crawford on Wednesday. Crawford, nominated by former President Barack Obama in 2017, acted one day after the Vermont Senate passed a resolution urging Mahdawi’s release by a vote of 24 to 5. All five dissenting votes came from Republicans.
Upon release, Mahdawi made victory gestures outside the courthouse while wearing a keffiyeh — a scarf often used to symbolize Palestinian resistance, including calls for violence against Jews. Speaking to media, Mahdawi claimed he was detained “because I raised my voice,” and called Israel’s military actions “killing more than 50,000 Palestinians.” He failed to mention the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre of over 1,000 Israelis and the kidnapping of 200 hostages, a terror attack that initiated Israel’s counteroffensive.
The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that deportation proceedings remain ongoing.
Canary Mission reports Mahdawi was a vocal leader of anti-Israel protests at Columbia University. In November 2023, he led chants of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” — a slogan widely condemned as antisemitic, including by a bipartisan House resolution passed in April 2024. The phrase has been used by Hamas leaders as a call for Israel’s destruction.
Mahdawi also posted photos of himself leading rallies organized by the Palestinian Student Society at Columbia. In one caption, he wrote: “We come here today to stand tall…chanting for humanity: Free, free Palestine!”
His pending deportation stems from President Donald Trump’s January 2020 executive order directing the exclusion of migrants who “espouse hateful ideology” or threaten national security. Mahdawi was arrested while attending a green card-to-citizenship interview. Secretary of State Marco Rubio authorized the deportation on grounds that Mahdawi’s activism undermines peace and promotes antisemitism.
Mahdawi arrived in the U.S. in 2014 and studied at Lehigh University and later Columbia, where he co-founded the Palestinian Student Union. It remains unclear who funded his tuition and living expenses during the past decade.
While Joy Behar and other left-wing commentators claim President Trump is “over his head” and “can’t answer simple questions,” President Joe Biden continues to struggle with basic public inquiries and scripted remarks — raising doubts about the credibility of those attacking Trump while ignoring Biden’s visible lapses in cognitive function.
