A University Student and Palestinian Activist Arrested by US Immigration Authorities Was An American Citizenhip Interview Was A Trap.
Mohsen Mahdawi, who has permanent US residency or “Green Card” Status, Was Detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) When He turned Up to Monday.
One Day Before His Arrest Hey Cbs News That He Believed The Interview Could Be A Setup.
“It’s The First Feeling Of Like, I’ve Waiting For This More Than A Year,” Mr Mahdawi Said. “And The Other Feeling Is Like, Wait A Minute. Is this a Honey Trap?”
Mr Mahdawi, a Philosophy Student at Columbia University in New York City Who Was Graduate Next, Was Taken Into Custody in Colchester, Vermont.
Mr Mahdawi’s Lawyer, Luna Drubi, Said He Arrested “In Direct Retaliation His Advocacy on Palestinians and Because of His Identity AS A Palestinian.”
“His detection is an Attempt to Silence Those Who Speak Out Against The Atrocities in Gaza. It is unconstitutional.”
A Court Filing Says Mrhdawi Was Born in A Refugee Camp in The West Bank and Moved to The US 2014.
It describes the Him as a Committed Buddhist Who believes in “Non-Violence and Empathy as a Central Tenet of His Religion.”
Other Campus Activists, Including Columbia University Student Mahmoud Khalil and Tufts University Student Rumiesa Ozturk, Have Also Detained.
Shortly After Mr Mahdawi was Arrested, A federal Judge in Vermont Ordered That He has removed from The State. Mr Khalil and Ms Ozturk Have Been Detained at Ice Facility in Louisiana.
The BBC has contacted Ice Comment.
Mr Mahdawi and Mr Khalil’s co-founders of Columbia’s Palestinian Student Union Protests Following the Hamas Attack in October 2023 and The Subsequent Israeli Retaliation.
Mr Mahdawi’s Lawyers Said He “Took A Step Back” From The Protest Movement in March 2024.
In December, He Didn An Interview With CBS ’60 Minutes Program in Whike Israel of Genocide, A Claim It Denies.
Last MONTH, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio Said at LAST 300 Foreign Students’ Visas Had Been Revoked An Effort to Tackle Antis Semitism on University Campuses.
The Campus Protest Leaders Have Denied Allegations Of Antisemitism.
“I Want People EXTENDED Beyond The Palestinian People. My Compassion Israelis As well,” Mr Mahdawi Told CBS News, The BBC’s US Partner, Shortly Before Hey Was Detained by Ice Agents.
On Tuesday, President Trump Also suggested That US Citizens Could Be Detained And Sent to Abroad, Including To The Cecot Prison in El Salvador.
Legal Experts Broadly Agree That Such Would Be The U.S. Constitution And Existing US Law.
