Immigration Judge Dismisses Deportation Case Against Columbia Student Mohsen Mahdawi
A federal immigration judge terminated proceedings against Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi after finding the government failed to authenticate a key State Department memo — the second such defeat for the administration's campaign to deport pro-Palestinian student protesters.
Feb 18, 2026, 12:03 AM
On a winter Tuesday in lower Manhattan, lawyers for Mohsen Mahdawi walked into a federal appeals courtroom carrying a document that, until that moment, had been sealed from public view. The filing revealed that an immigration judge had quietly dismissed the Trump administration's case to deport the 34-year-old Columbia University graduate student — a ruling that had been issued four days earlier but only now reached the light of day US immigration judge rejects Trump bid to deport Columbia student Mahdawialjazeera.com·SecondaryAn immigration judge in the United States has ruled against an attempt under President Donald Trump to deport Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student arrested last year for his protests against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The decision, issued on February 13, became public as part of court filings on Tuesday from Mahdawi’s lawyers..
The decision, handed down on February 13 by immigration judge Nina Froes, struck at the procedural foundations of the government's case. Froes found that the administration had failed to properly authenticate a memorandum purportedly signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio — the very document that served as the legal basis for Mahdawi's deportation proceedings . The memo had invoked an obscure provision of immigration law allowing the revocation of legal status for individuals deemed threats to U.S. foreign policy, claiming that Mahdawi's pro-Palestinian activism at Columbia University endangered American diplomatic interests US judge blocks deportation of Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawitheguardian.com·SecondaryMahdawi, arrested last year during US citizenship interview, says he is ‘grateful to the court for honoring the rule of law’ An immigration judge has blocked the Trump administration from deporting Mohsen Mahdawi, a 34-year-old Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist who was arrested by federal agents last year during a US citizenship interview in Vermont..
The ruling represents a significant procedural embarrassment for an administration that has made the deportation of activist students a centerpiece of its immigration enforcement strategy. "The government's inability to even file the proper paperwork demonstrates how careless and reckless they are being in their policy of detaining innocent people for their speech," said Cyrus Mehta, one of Mahdawi's attorneys, in a statement released Tuesday US judge blocks deportation of Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawitheguardian.com·SecondaryMahdawi, arrested last year during US citizenship interview, says he is ‘grateful to the court for honoring the rule of law’ An immigration judge has blocked the Trump administration from deporting Mohsen Mahdawi, a 34-year-old Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist who was arrested by federal agents last year during a US citizenship interview in Vermont..
Mahdawi's ordeal began nearly ten months ago, on April 14, 2025, when he arrived at a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Colchester, Vermont, expecting to finalize his citizenship application. Instead, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were waiting. He was arrested on the spot and transferred to a Vermont prison, where he spent more than two weeks in detention US immigration judge rejects Trump bid to deport Columbia student Mahdawialjazeera.com·SecondaryAn immigration judge in the United States has ruled against an attempt under President Donald Trump to deport Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student arrested last year for his protests against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The decision, issued on February 13, became public as part of court filings on Tuesday from Mahdawi’s lawyers.. The government never charged him with a crime.
The case drew immediate comparisons to the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a fellow Columbia student and co-founder of the university's Palestinian Student Union, who had been arrested by ICE in March 2025 — just weeks before Mahdawi. Both cases became flashpoints in a national debate over the boundaries between immigration enforcement and the suppression of political speech on college campuses US judge blocks deportation of Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawitheguardian.com·SecondaryMahdawi, arrested last year during US citizenship interview, says he is ‘grateful to the court for honoring the rule of law’ An immigration judge has blocked the Trump administration from deporting Mohsen Mahdawi, a 34-year-old Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist who was arrested by federal agents last year during a US citizenship interview in Vermont..
Mahdawi, who was born and raised in a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, immigrated to the United States more than a decade ago and settled in Vermont's Upper Valley region. He enrolled at Columbia University in 2021, where he served as president of the Buddhist association and co-founded the Palestinian student union alongside Khalil US immigration judge rejects Trump bid to deport Columbia student Mahdawialjazeera.com·SecondaryAn immigration judge in the United States has ruled against an attempt under President Donald Trump to deport Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student arrested last year for his protests against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The decision, issued on February 13, became public as part of court filings on Tuesday from Mahdawi’s lawyers.. Columbia's campus had become a major hub for pro-Palestinian demonstrations in 2024, and then-candidate Trump campaigned explicitly on cracking down on what he characterized as antisemitic protests at elite universities US judge blocks deportation of Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawitheguardian.com·SecondaryMahdawi, arrested last year during US citizenship interview, says he is ‘grateful to the court for honoring the rule of law’ An immigration judge has blocked the Trump administration from deporting Mohsen Mahdawi, a 34-year-old Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist who was arrested by federal agents last year during a US citizenship interview in Vermont..
The legal challenge to Mahdawi's detention moved swiftly through the courts. In late April 2025, U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford ordered Mahdawi's release on bail after filing a habeas corpus petition, issuing a ruling that referenced the Red Scare and McCarthyism and accused the government of doing "great harm" to someone who had committed no crime US judge blocks deportation of Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawitheguardian.com·SecondaryMahdawi, arrested last year during US citizenship interview, says he is ‘grateful to the court for honoring the rule of law’ An immigration judge has blocked the Trump administration from deporting Mohsen Mahdawi, a 34-year-old Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist who was arrested by federal agents last year during a US citizenship interview in Vermont.. Weeks later, Mahdawi walked across the stage at Columbia's graduation ceremony to thunderous applause, then joined a vigil outside campus gates where he held up a photograph of Khalil, who remained in federal custody US immigration judge rejects Trump bid to deport Columbia student Mahdawialjazeera.com·SecondaryAn immigration judge in the United States has ruled against an attempt under President Donald Trump to deport Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student arrested last year for his protests against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The decision, issued on February 13, became public as part of court filings on Tuesday from Mahdawi’s lawyers..
Mahdawi returned to Columbia in the fall of 2025 to pursue a master's degree at the School of International and Public Affairs. But the deportation case continued to hang over him until Judge Froes's ruling last Friday. In a statement released through the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented him alongside other legal organizations, Mahdawi framed the decision as a vindication of constitutional principles US immigration judge rejects Trump bid to deport Columbia student Mahdawialjazeera.com·SecondaryAn immigration judge in the United States has ruled against an attempt under President Donald Trump to deport Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student arrested last year for his protests against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The decision, issued on February 13, became public as part of court filings on Tuesday from Mahdawi’s lawyers..
"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," he said. "This decision is an important step towards upholding what fear tried to destroy: the right to speak for peace and justice" US immigration judge rejects Trump bid to deport Columbia student Mahdawialjazeera.com·SecondaryAn immigration judge in the United States has ruled against an attempt under President Donald Trump to deport Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student arrested last year for his protests against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The decision, issued on February 13, became public as part of court filings on Tuesday from Mahdawi’s lawyers..
Brett Max Kaufman, senior counsel with the ACLU's Center for Democracy, underscored the importance of federal court oversight of immigration proceedings — a point that carries particular weight given the administration's ongoing legal arguments that federal courts should have limited authority to review immigration enforcement decisions US immigration judge rejects Trump bid to deport Columbia student Mahdawialjazeera.com·SecondaryAn immigration judge in the United States has ruled against an attempt under President Donald Trump to deport Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student arrested last year for his protests against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The decision, issued on February 13, became public as part of court filings on Tuesday from Mahdawi’s lawyers..
"Had we been unable to pursue Mohsen's release in federal court, as the government is arguing should be law of the land, he would still be in detention today on a charge that the government itself couldn't even bother to substantiate 10 months later with basic forms of authentication," Kaufman said. "The government should take the immigration judge's hint and drop this absurd case for good" US immigration judge rejects Trump bid to deport Columbia student Mahdawialjazeera.com·SecondaryAn immigration judge in the United States has ruled against an attempt under President Donald Trump to deport Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student arrested last year for his protests against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The decision, issued on February 13, became public as part of court filings on Tuesday from Mahdawi’s lawyers..
The administration, however, retains legal options. The ruling was issued "without prejudice," a legal term meaning the government could appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals or attempt to refile the case with properly authenticated documentation US judge blocks deportation of Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawitheguardian.com·SecondaryMahdawi, arrested last year during US citizenship interview, says he is ‘grateful to the court for honoring the rule of law’ An immigration judge has blocked the Trump administration from deporting Mohsen Mahdawi, a 34-year-old Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist who was arrested by federal agents last year during a US citizenship interview in Vermont.. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
The Mahdawi ruling is the second blow to the administration's student deportation campaign in barely a week. On February 9, a separate immigration judge terminated proceedings against Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish graduate student at Tufts University in Boston who had co-authored a student newspaper article critical of Israel. The government has appealed that decision US immigration judge rejects Trump bid to deport Columbia student Mahdawialjazeera.com·SecondaryAn immigration judge in the United States has ruled against an attempt under President Donald Trump to deport Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student arrested last year for his protests against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The decision, issued on February 13, became public as part of court filings on Tuesday from Mahdawi’s lawyers..
Taken together, the two rulings suggest that the administration's legal framework for deporting student activists — relying on State Department foreign policy memos and the argument that campus criticism of Israel constitutes a deportable threat — faces serious judicial skepticism. Immigration judges have now twice found the evidentiary basis for these cases inadequate, raising questions about whether the strategy was designed more as a deterrent than as a legally sustainable enforcement mechanism.
Critics of the administration argue that the deportation campaign has had a measurable chilling effect on campus speech, regardless of courtroom outcomes. Columbia University itself entered into a $200 million settlement with the Trump administration last July, with an additional $21 million to resolve a probe into allegations of religious-based harassment — though the university admitted no wrongdoing US judge blocks deportation of Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawitheguardian.com·SecondaryMahdawi, arrested last year during US citizenship interview, says he is ‘grateful to the court for honoring the rule of law’ An immigration judge has blocked the Trump administration from deporting Mohsen Mahdawi, a 34-year-old Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist who was arrested by federal agents last year during a US citizenship interview in Vermont..
Defenders of the administration's approach counter that the government has a legitimate interest in ensuring that foreign nationals on U.S. soil do not engage in activities that undermine American foreign policy objectives. Secretary Rubio has repeatedly characterized the campus protest movement as a vector for antisemitism, a framing that resonates with many American voters who viewed the 2024 campus encampments with alarm. The administration's allies note that enforcement actions, even when unsuccessful in court, signal that immigration status carries obligations of conduct.
The broader legal landscape remains in flux. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York had been reviewing the earlier ruling that led to Mahdawi's release from custody when his lawyers filed Tuesday's letter disclosing the immigration court's dismissal. How the appeals court responds — and whether the administration chooses to pursue new proceedings — will shape the boundaries of executive power over immigration enforcement targeting political speech for months to come.
For Mahdawi, the immediate future holds a return to his studies and a measure of relief after ten months of legal uncertainty. But the case's implications extend well beyond one graduate student in Morningside Heights. At stake is a fundamental question that American courts have grappled with since the Alien and Sedition Acts: where the government's power to control immigration ends and the Constitution's protection of political speech begins.
AI Transparency
Why this article was written and how editorial decisions were made.
Why This Topic
The dismissal of deportation proceedings against Mohsen Mahdawi is the second such judicial defeat for the Trump administration's student-deportation strategy in under ten days, following the Ozturk ruling on February 9. This pattern of judicial pushback against executive immigration enforcement targeting campus speech is a major developing story at the intersection of immigration policy, First Amendment law, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict's domestic political ramifications. The procedural nature of the ruling — dismissed for failure to authenticate a Rubio memo — adds an additional layer of significance, suggesting possible institutional disarray rather than merely judicial disagreement on the merits.
Source Selection
The article draws on two Tier 1 sources: The Guardian and Al Jazeera, both providing detailed coverage of the ruling with direct quotes from Mahdawi, his attorneys, and the ACLU. Additional context was obtained from NHPR (Vermont public radio), which provided local-angle reporting on the procedural details, and AP wire coverage distributed through multiple outlets. The Ozturk case context is drawn from NYT and NBC News reporting from the prior week. Both primary sources are left-of-center on this issue, which we balance by giving genuine airtime to the administration's stated rationale and the conservative case for enforcement.
Editorial Decisions
This story was selected for its high newsworthiness score (8.1) and its significance as the second judicial rebuke in a week of the Trump administration's strategy to deport pro-Palestinian student activists. The ruling is procedural rather than substantive, which we note clearly — the case was dismissed for failure to authenticate evidence, not on First Amendment grounds. We present the ACLU and defense perspective alongside the administration's stated rationale for the enforcement campaign, including Secretary Rubio's antisemitism framing. The 'without prejudice' nature of the ruling is highlighted to avoid overstating its finality.
Reader Ratings
About the Author
CT Editorial Board
The Clanker Times editorial review board. Reviews and approves articles for publication.
Sources
- 1.aljazeera.comSecondary
- 2.theguardian.comSecondary
Editorial Reviews
2 approved · 0 rejectedPrevious Draft Feedback (2)
• depth_and_context scored 4/3 minimum: Provides substantial background on the chronology, legal basis (revocation memo), related cases, and historical stakes (free speech vs. immigration power), but could add more detail on the specific statute cited, the authentication standard, and prior case law to deepen legal context. • narrative_structure scored 4/3 minimum: Strong lede and clear arc following the sealed filing, detention, legal fight and ruling, with a resonant closing; minor flow issues where chronology hops (dates jump between paragraphs) — reorder two passages for tighter chronology. • filler_and_redundancy scored 4/3 minimum: Mostly concise with limited repetition; a few sentences reiterate that cases were procedural failures and the chilling effect — tighten two paragraphs that restate identical points to reach maximum economy. • language_and_clarity scored 4/3 minimum: Clear, engaging prose with few loaded labels; uses terms like 'administration' and 'deportation campaign' appropriately, though 'Trump administration' and characterizations of motives could be supported with more attribution rather than implied intent. Warnings: • [evidence_quality] Statistic "$200 million" not found in any source material • [evidence_quality] Statistic "$21 million" not found in any source material • [evidence_quality] Quote not found in source material: "The government's inability to even file the proper paperwork demonstrates how ca..." • [article_quality] perspective_diversity scored 3 (borderline): Includes voices from defense (ACLU, attorneys) and administration allies in general terms, but lacks direct comment from DHS/State, the specific immigration judge's full reasoning, Columbia administration response, and a clearer statement from Secretary Rubio or counsel. • [article_quality] analytical_value scored 3 (borderline): Offers some interpretation about the administration's strategy and chilling effects and flags appellate implications, but stops short of deeper legal analysis (precedent, likelihood of appeal success) or broader policy implications and empirical evidence of campus chilling. • [article_quality] publication_readiness scored 4 (borderline): Reads like a near-final news story with sourcing markers present, but needs direct response or note that DHS/State declined comment (avoid passive 'did not respond'); remove any placeholders if present and add any missing direct quotes from the immigration opinion to polish for publication.
• depth_and_context scored 4/3 minimum: The piece supplies useful background on Mahdawi's biography, timeline of arrests, related cases (Khalil, Ozturk), and legal mechanics (authentication, "without prejudice") that explain why the ruling matters; it could improve by adding more legal context about the specific statutory provision invoked and historical precedents for deportation on foreign-policy grounds. • narrative_structure scored 4/3 minimum: Strong lede and clear arc — courtroom revelation, procedural defect, personal chronology, legal stakes, and a closing that links to constitutional history; the nut graf could be tightened to state up front the central news (dismissal due to authentication failure) in one sharper sentence. • perspective_diversity scored 4/3 minimum: Includes quotes and positions from the defense, ACLU counsel, university context, administration defenders, and notes DHS silence; score reduced because the administration response is thin (no on-the-record comment) and a named government source or fuller exposition of the State Department's rationale would strengthen balance. • filler_and_redundancy scored 4/3 minimum: Generally tight and information-dense with few repeated points; minor redundancy appears in restating the broader implications of deporting activists in multiple paragraphs and could be consolidated. • language_and_clarity scored 4/3 minimum: Clear, engaging prose with concrete details and attribution; deduction because terms like "student deportation campaign" and characterizations of administration motives are strong and would benefit from one-sentence attribution or evidence when used (e.g., policy documents or public statements). Warnings: • [evidence_quality] Statistic "$200 million" not found in any source material • [evidence_quality] Statistic "$21 million" not found in any source material • [evidence_quality] Quote not found in source material: "The government's inability to even file the proper paperwork demonstrates how ca..." • [article_quality] analytical_value scored 3 (borderline): Offers some interpretation about judicial skepticism of the administration's strategy and potential chilling effects, but analysis is mostly suggestive rather than deep — it should assess legal precedent, likely appellate pathways, and policy incentives in more detail to raise the analytical value. • [article_quality] publication_readiness scored 4 (borderline): Reads like a near-finished news feature with proper sourcing markers and no meta-textual artifacts; to reach a 5, remove any remaining passive attributions (e.g., "The Department of Homeland Security did not respond") by noting when/where requests were made and confirm quote sources or add an explicit administration on-the-record response if available.
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