A federal appeals court vacated a lower court order on Tuesday releasing former Columbia University graduate student and anti-Israel activist Mohsen Mahdawi from immigration detention, ruling that the district court lacked jurisdiction because his claims must be litigated through the immigration system.
The decision clears the way for Mahdawi’s possible re-arrest as the Trump administration continues its effort to deport him.
In a unanimous opinion, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said Mahdawi’s challenge was directed not merely at his detention but at the government’s effort to remove him from the United States, placing the case within the Immigration and Nationality Act’s exclusive review process. The panel said Congress requires such claims to be pursued through immigration proceedings before they can be reviewed by federal courts.
Mahdawi, 35, a lawful permanent resident, was arrested in April 2025 while attending a U.S. citizenship interview after Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that his “presence or activities would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
The appeals court noted that the government’s determination alleged Mahdawi had “called for the destruction of Israel” and had been identified during Columbia University protests as “having engaged in threatening rhetoric and intimidation of pro-Israeli bystanders.”
The panel emphasized that it was not deciding the merits of Mahdawi’s constitutional claims, including his argument that he was targeted for protected speech. Instead, it ruled only that those claims must first be addressed through the immigration system before they can be reviewed by the federal courts.
