Judge Halts Deportation of Palestinian Columbia Student

An immigration judge in Massachusetts has halted deportation proceedings against Mohsen Mahdawi, a 34-year-old Palestinian green card holder and Columbia University graduate student known for his pro-Palestinian activism, ruling that evidence submitted by federal authorities lacked proper authentication. The decision, issued last Friday by Judge Nina Froes, came nearly a year after Mahdawi's arrest during a U.S. citizenship interview in Colchester, Vermont.

Mahdawi, who was born and raised in a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank and immigrated to the United States more than a decade ago, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in April of last year. Authorities invoked an obscure provision of immigration law, alleging he posed a threat to U.S. foreign policy due to his campus organizing. He was held for over two weeks without criminal charges before U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford in Vermont ordered his release on bail following a habeas corpus petition filed by his legal team. The petition argued that the detention was retaliatory, aimed at suppressing his advocacy for Palestinian human rights.

In her ruling, Judge Froes determined that the...