New York, NY—Today, Mohsen Mahdawi was released on bail from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention by Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford of the Federal District Court in Vermont. Mahdawi – originally from the West Bank, a green card holder and legal permanent resident of the U.S. for 10 years, and a student activist at Columbia University – was arrested at an April 14 citizenship appointment. The U.S. government under Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has argued Mahdawi was removable under the Immigration and Nationality Act because of his speech on Palestine.
Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO, New York Immigration Coalition:
“Donald Trump is detaining and imprisoning immigrants with and without status, without having been charged or convicted of any crime, based solely on their Constitutionally protected free speech. These detentions are not just an immoral attack on American values, but are rooted in legally dubious claims. Moshen Mahdawi is free today. Judge Crawford’s ruling shows that Mahdawi’s detention based on his free speech was unjustified. The government’s case should now be thrown out, and Mahdawi should be allowed to move forward with his citizenship application and continue with his studies. All of Trump’s other similarly detained political prisoners must be freed as well. The weaponization of the State Department must end if our country has a chance to escape our current Constitutional crisis.”