NEW YORK (Palestine Foundation Information Center) US authorities have detained a second Palestinian student at Columbia University in New York City due to his views on the Israeli genocidal war in Gaza. Attorney Luna Droubi stated that her client, Mohsen Mihdawi, was arrested while reviewing his immigration status for US citizenship procedures.
Mihdawi has had legal residency in the United States for 10 years and was detained while in the Vermont immigration office to complete the final steps of his citizenship application.
Droubi told the “AP News” network that Mihdawi’s arrest during the naturalization process is illegal and represents a violation of his constitutional right to freedom of expression. The urgent appeal submitted by Droubi to the federal court in Vermont stated that her client had publicly criticized Israeli occupation attacks on Gaza until March 2024 and had been an activist and organizer in student protests on the Columbia University campus, although he later withdrew from participation.
The petition submitted to the court indicates that Mohsen Mihdawi was born and raised in the West Bank and entered the United States in 2014 with legal status. Since then, he has held a residency permit and is expected to graduate from Columbia University next month.
Additionally, NBC 5 reported that federal judge William Sessions in Vermont issued a temporary order on Monday preventing Mihdawi from being deported out of the state or the country, based on the request submitted to the court.
On March 9, US authorities arrested Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who led solidarity protests at Columbia University last year in condemnation of the genocide in Gaza. Pro-Palestine protests, which began at Columbia University, have spread to over 50 universities across the country, with police detaining more than 3,100 individuals, mostly students and faculty members.
With full US support, Israel has continued to commit genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, resulting in approximately 167,000 Palestinian martyrs and injured, most of whom are women and children, in addition to over 11,000 missing persons.
