Mohsen Mahdawi

The detention of Mohsen Mahdawi arose from his activism in support of Palestinians and in opposition to the Gaza war as a student at Columbia University, which motivated the U.S. State Department to initiate deportation proceedings, claiming that his actions harm U.S. foreign policy. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arranged Mahdawi's apprehension at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office in Colchester, Vermont, where USCIS had scheduled an interview for him to obtain U.S. citizenship. He was detained on April 14, 2025.