Mohsen Mahdawi, an anti-Israel activist and former student protest organizer at Columbia University, scored a legal victory after an immigration judge dismissed the government’s deportation case against him, according to his attorneys.
In a filing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Tuesday, Mahdawi’s attorneys stated that the immigration court on Feb. 11 found that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security failed to meet its burden of proof to remove him. The judge also ruled that a key memorandum signed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was not properly authenticated and therefore could not be relied upon as evidence.
According to multiple reports, immigration judge Nina Froes terminated the removal proceedings largely because of that evidentiary defect, marking a setback for the administration’s effort to deport Mahdawi.
The Trump administration may appeal or seek to refile the case. (JNS sought comment from the U.S. Department of Justice.)
A spokesperson for Homeland Security told JNS that “it is a privilege to be granted a visa or green card to live and study in the United States of America.”
“When you advocate for violence, glorify and support terrorists that relish the killing of Americans, and harass Jews, that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country,” the spokesperson said. “No activist judge, not this one or any other, is going to stop us from doing that.”
Mahdawi, who previously served as co-president of the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at Columbia University, was arrested by immigration authorities in April 2025 during a citizenship interview in Vermont. A federal judge later ordered his release from custody while his legal challenges proceed.
Homeland Security has previously alleged that Mahdawi played a leading role in disruptive campus protests and made threatening statements, claims his attorneys deny.
Homeland Security had previously stated in May that Mahdawi was the “ringleader” of the “Columbia University riots.” Additionally, Mahdawi allegedly told a gun shop owner that he used to “kill Jews while he was in Palestine,” adding, “I like to kill Jews.”
Mahdawi stated on Tuesday that “in a climate where dissent is increasingly met with intimidation and detention, today’s ruling renews hope that due process still applies and that no agency stands above the Constitution.”
