US appeals court overturns ruling that freed Columbia activist Mahdawi

The decision is the latest court victory for US President Donald Trump’s campaign targeting foreign student protesters.

A United States appeals court has overturned a lower court ruling that ordered the release of Columbia University activist Mohsen Mahdawi from immigration detention, marking the latest legal victory for the administration of US President Donald Trump in its effort to deport pro-Palestinian student protesters.

On Tuesday, the court reversed a ۲۰۲۵ decision by US District Judge Geoffrey Crawford, who had ordered Mahdawi’s release, ruling that he enjoyed the same free speech rights as US citizens and accusing the Trump administration of causing “great harm” to someone who had committed no crime.

Mahdawi has remained out of custody while fighting deportation.

In May, the Board of Immigration Appeals reinstated deportation proceedings after overturning a February decision by an immigration judge, Nina Froes, that had blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to deport Mahdawi. Froes had ruled that the government failed to meet its burden of proof and dismissed key evidence as inadmissible. She was later fired by the Trump administration.

Mahdawi, a lawful permanent resident who was born in the occupied West Bank, was arrested in April ۲۰۲۵ after attending what he believed was an interview related to his US citizenship application. He was detained for two weeks and charged with no crime.

In a statement after the appeals board reinstated the deportation case in May, Mahdawi accused the Trump administration of weaponising the immigration system to silence his political views.

“The government is trying to punish and deport me, a stateless Palestinian refugee from the occupied West Bank, because it opposes my peaceful advocacy for human dignity and equal rights for Palestinians,” he said. “But I remain unafraid and faithful that justice will prevail in America and in Palestine.”

Mahdawi’s case has become one of the most closely watched challenges to Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus activism, which has involved attempting to deport foreign protesters, threatening to freeze funds for universities where protests have taken place and scrutinising online speech.

The administration has argued that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has the authority under federal immigration law to seek the deportation of non-citizens whose presence could have “adverse foreign policy consequences” for the US.

Human rights lawyers argue that the government is retaliating against constitutionally protected speech.