Judge Blocks Deportation of Columbia Protester Mohsen Mahdawi

An immigration judge has blocked the deportation of Mohsen Mahdawi, an organizer of the pro-Palestinian movement at Columbia University who was arrested during a citizenship appointment last year. Mahdawi has been free from federal custody since April, after immigration officials detained him and sought to rescind his green card.

In an order made public on Tuesday, Judge Nina Froes said the Department of Homeland Security had not met its burden of proving with clear and convincing evidence that Mahdawi could be legally removed from the United States. The judge questioned the authenticity of a photocopy of a document that appeared to be signed by the U.S.

secretary of state, Marco Rubio. In that document, which the government presented as evidence, Mr. Rubio said Mahdawi’s activism “could undermine the Middle East peace process by reinforcing antisemitic sentiment.” The federal government could appeal the judge’s decision, but it was not clear whether it planned to do so.

United States

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