2nd Circuit Court Reverses Order to Release Columbia Activist Mahdawi
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A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a lower court should not have ordered the release of Columbia University activist Mohsen Mahdawi, sending his immigration case back to the immigration courts.
A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday reversed a district-court order that had required the release of Columbia University activist Mohsen Mahdawi from immigration detention. The panel, which includes two judges appointed by President Donald Trump and one appointed by former President George W. Bush, said the matter should be resolved within the immigration court system overseen by the Justice Department, not by a federal judge.
The decision does not mandate Mahdawi’s immediate re-arrest but removes the prior order that allowed his release. The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents Mahdawi, said there is no legal basis for his deportation or re-detention while the appeals process continues. Mahdawi, a lawful permanent resident born in the West Bank, may now have his case reheard by a full panel of the 2nd Circuit or appeal to the Supreme Court.
In 2025, a district judge had ordered Mahdawi’s release, citing his free-speech rights and criticizing the administration’s actions. The Board of Immigration Appeals later reinstated deportation proceedings after overturning an earlier immigration-judge decision that had blocked the government's attempt to deport him.
"I still have faith that the full court will correct the legal error and restore the constitutional principles that protect all people equally," Mahdawi said in response to the appellate ruling.
Mahdawi’s case is among several high-profile challenges to the administration’s efforts to deport foreign students involved in pro-Palestinian activism on U.S. campuses. The government has argued that the Secretary of State can seek deportation of non-citizens whose presence may have adverse foreign-policy consequences, a position contested by human-rights lawyers who view it as retaliation against protected speech.