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A judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from firing Mohsen Mahdawi, a pro-Palestinian protest leader who led anti-Israel protests at Columbia University.
Judge Nina Froes dismissed the case after federal authorities made a procedural error and failed to approve a document they tried to submit as evidence.
“I thank the court for respecting the law and holding a line against the government’s efforts to trample due process,” said Mahdawi in a statement. “This decision is an important step in supporting what terror tried to destroy: the right to speak for peace and justice.”
Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin criticized the decision on Tuesday, saying the Trump administration is still determined to revoke Mahdawi’s visa.
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Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi will not be deported after Immigration Judge Nina Froes ruled that the government failed to provide enough evidence. (Amanda Swinhart/AP)
“No activist judge, not this one or any other, will stop us from doing that,” he said.
Froes’ decision is related to a document submitted as evidence by state attorneys. The document refers to Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying that non-citizens could be deported if their presence could undermine US foreign policy.
Froes wrote in his decision that state attorneys submitted a copy of the document to the court, but failed to certify it as required under federal law.
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Mohsen Mahdawi, accused of making anti-Semitic statements and leading protests at Columbia University, wins a deportation case after a judge found sufficient evidence. (REUTERS/Ryan Murphy)
Mahdawi, 34, was arrested in April 2025 during a citizenship application in Vermont and spent more than two weeks in custody. He was later released on bail after filing a habeas corpus petition.
A judge ordered that he not be deported or removed from the state and he was released under an order issued by US District Judge Geoffrey Crawford in Burlington.
According to the 2025 court filing, Mahdawi founded the institute Palestinian Student Union at Columbia after the attack of October 7, 2023, Hamas. He founded the group with Mahmoud Khalil.
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Mahdawi’s deportation case also stems from other allegations dating back to 2015, when he was interviewed by the FBI after he was reported to have committed a crime. antisemitic remarks Vermont gun shop and gun museum.
According to the court documents cited earlier by Fox News Digitalthe shop owner said Mahdawi expressed interest in buying firearms, including a sniper rifle and an automatic weapon.
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The owner said he had experience building 9mm submachine guns “to kill Jews while in Palestine.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
