2nd Circuit Overturns Release Order for Mahdawi

A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, that a judge improperly ordered the release of Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian-born Columbia University graduate student, from immigration custody last year. The decision by a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturns a 2025 ruling and revives the legal pathway for the U.S. government to detain and deport Mahdawi over his pro-Palestinian advocacy.

The panel, in a unanimous opinion authored by Judge Debra Ann Livingston, found that U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford in Vermont lacked jurisdiction to intervene in Mahdawi's case when he ordered the student's release in April 2025. Judge Crawford had ruled that Mahdawi, a lawful permanent resident, was likely targeted for his First Amendment-protected speech and should be freed while his habeas corpus petition was reviewed. The appeals court concluded that because Mahdawi's legal challenge pertained to both his detention and his potential removal from the country, the matter must first be fully adjudicated within the immigration court system before federal courts can weigh the constitutional questions.

"The district court should not have reached...