2nd Circuit Court Upholds Law, Reverses Order to Release Columbia Activist Mahdawi
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A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has rightly reversed a lower court’s order to release Columbia University activist Mohsen Mahdawi, ensuring that immigration law is enforced and returning his case to the proper immigration courts.
On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, featuring two judges appointed by President Donald Trump and one by President George W. Bush, reversed a district court’s misguided order that had forced the release of Columbia University activist Mohsen Mahdawi from immigration detention. The panel correctly determined that Mahdawi’s case should be handled within the immigration court system, as overseen by the Justice Department, rather than by an activist federal judge overstepping their bounds.
The decision does not require Mahdawi’s immediate re-arrest but rightly removes the previous order that allowed his release, restoring proper legal process. The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents Mahdawi, continues to argue against his deportation or re-detention, but the facts remain: Mahdawi, a lawful permanent resident born in the West Bank, must now seek a rehearing by the full 2nd Circuit or appeal to the Supreme Court if he wishes to avoid removal.
In 2025, a district judge had inappropriately ordered Mahdawi’s release, citing so-called free-speech rights and criticizing the administration’s legitimate enforcement actions. The Board of Immigration Appeals later reinstated deportation proceedings, overturning a previous immigration-judge decision that had blocked the government’s lawful attempt to remove 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, continuing to push a narrative that ignores the rule of law.
Mahdawi’s case is one of several high-profile challenges to the administration’s necessary efforts to deport foreign students involved in disruptive pro-Palestinian activism on U.S. campuses. The government has rightly argued that the Secretary of State has the authority to deport non-citizens whose presence may have negative foreign-policy consequences, a power that human-rights lawyers attempt to undermine by framing it as retaliation against so-called protected speech.