By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, Might 6 (Reuters) – The U.S. Board of ImmigrationAppeals has reinstated deportation proceedings towards pro-Palestinian pupil Mohsen Mahdawi, based on a courtroom submitting from his legal professionals.
A U.S. immigration choose in February had rejected efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to deport the Columbia College pupil, who was arrested final yr following his participation in pro-Palestinian protests.
Nina Froes, the Chelmsford, Massachusetts-based immigration choose who blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to deport Mahdawi, was fired final month.
The Board of Immigration Appeals, a part of the Division of Justice’s Govt Workplace for Immigration Evaluation, overturned Froes’ choice. Trump alleges activists like Mahdawi are antisemitic, assist extremism and threaten U.S. international coverage.
Activists, together with some Jewish teams, say the federal government conflates criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories with antisemitism, and advocacy for Palestinian rights with assist for extremism.
“The federal government continues to weaponize the immigration system to silence dissent,” Mahdawi mentioned in an announcement shared by his authorized workforce on Wednesday.
Mahdawi, born and raised in a refugee camp within the Israeli-occupied West Financial institution, was arrested in April 2025 upon arriving for an interview for his U.S. citizenship petition. He was launched after two weeks in detention following a choose’s order and was by no means charged with a criminal offense.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which represented Mahdawi, says the federal government can not deport him for the second as his arrest was nonetheless being challenged in federal courtroom.
Trump has cracked down on pro-Palestinian actions by making an attempt to deport international protesters, threatening to freeze funds for universities the place protests have been held and scrutinizing immigrants’ on-line speech. The crackdown has led to free speech, due course of and educational freedom issues from rights specialists.
U.S. schools have seen campus actions towards Israel’s struggle in Gaza since late 2023. Demonstrations peaked in 2024. Whereas the depth of the actions has declined since then, there have been occasional flashes.
Over the weekend, College of Michigan professor Derek Peterson praised pro-Palestinian protesters in a spring graduation program, prompting the college to subject an apology.
On Wednesday, Rutgers College mentioned it withdrew an invite to pro-Palestinian enterprise chief Rami Elghandour, a critic of Israel, for a commencement speech subsequent week.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; modifying by Lincoln Feast.)
