Immigration judge halts Trump administration's deportation of Palestinian student
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- A US immigration judge dismisses the Trump administration’s case to deport a Palestinian Columbia University student.
- The ruling cites lack of evidence and procedural errors tied to a State Department memo.
A US immigration judge has dismissed efforts by the Trump administration to deport a Palestinian student at Columbia University, dealing a setback to government attempts to target noncitizen students involved in pro-Palestinian campus protests.
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Judge Nina Frouis ruled on February 13 that the Department of Homeland Security failed to present sufficient evidence to justify the removal of Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian student at Columbia University who was arrested last year after taking part in demonstrations supporting Palestinians.
Procedural flaws cited
In her decision, Judge Frouis said the government relied on an uncertified document signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio without properly authenticating it as evidence.
She added on Tuesday that government lawyers committed a procedural error by failing to formally certify the document they intended to use against Mahdawi, prompting her to terminate the case.
Free expression concerns
Mahdawi welcomed the ruling, calling it “an important step toward protecting what fear tried to destroy, the right to speak out for peace and justice.”
Born and raised in a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, Mahdawi has been a permanent US resident for ten years. He was arrested in April 2025 while attending an interview related to his application for US citizenship and was later released under an order from a federal judge.
Despite his release, authorities continued deportation proceedings based on a memo issued by Rubio that allows for the removal of noncitizens deemed harmful to US foreign policy interests.
Broader crackdown challenged
The case marks the latest legal blow to efforts by the administration of former President Donald Trump to detain and deport non-US students involved in pro-Palestinian or anti-‘Israel’ activism on university campuses.
Last month, another immigration judge blocked an attempt to deport a Tufts University graduate student, Rumeysa Ozturk, over an opinion article criticizing her university’s stance on the war in the Gaza Strip.
The US Department of Homeland Security has not commented on the ruling. The administration retains the option to appeal to the Justice Department’s Board of Immigration Appeals.
