Mohsen Mahdawi graduates from Columbia after being released from Ice custody

Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi received enthusiastic applause from his peers as he walked across the graduation stage on Monday, just over two weeks after being released from federal detention.

Mahdawi, a 34-year-old Palestinian activist, had been arrested by immigration officials in Colchester, Vermont while attending a naturalization interview. On April 14, the Trump administration ordered his deportation, even though he had not been charged with any crime.

Wearing a keffiyeh, Mahdawi was met with cheers as he crossed the stage, blowing a kiss and taking a bow, according to a video. After the ceremony, he joined a vigil outside Columbia’s gates, holding a photo of his classmate Mahmoud Khalil, who is still in federal custody, The Guardian reported.

Mohsen Mahdawi described his graduation day as emotionally complex, telling the Associated Press that he felt the Trump administration had tried to deny him the chance to celebrate this milestone. He said officials had intended for him to be behind bars, in prison attire, stripped of both education and joy.

Mahdawi is among a number of international students who have been detained in recent months due to their pro-Palestinian activism.

The Trump administration has been pursuing their deportation by invoking an obscure legal provision that allows the secretary of state the right to revoke the legal status of individuals deemed a threat to U.S. foreign policy.

Mahdawi was released from federal detention two weeks after his arrest, by a judge who compared the government's actions to McCarthy-era repression.

Although federal authorities have not charged Mahdawi with any crime, they contended that his and other student activists’ beliefs posed a potential threat to U.S. foreign policy and therefore justified deportation.

Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Columbia’s School of General Studies, Mahdawi described the occasion as bittersweet. He expressed deep disappointment with the university, saying he felt it had turned its back on him and others.

He accused Columbia’s senior leadership of aligning itself with the Trump administration, claiming they were complicit in what he sees as a degradation of democratic values.

Mahdawi criticized Columbia University for complying with demands from the Trump administration, including appointing new leadership to its Middle Eastern studies department. He also expressed frustration that the university did not publicly denounce his or Mahmoud Khalil’s detention.

Khalil, who was set to graduate later this week with a master’s degree in international studies from Columbia, is still being held in a Louisiana detention centre as he awaits a ruling from a federal judge on his potential release.

Mahdawi is preparing for what could be a long legal struggle and faces uncertainty about his own future. Although he had been accepted into a master’s program at Columbia to study peacekeeping and conflict resolution starting in the fall, he is now reconsidering his plans after finding out this month that he would not be receiving financial aid.

In the meantime, he said he remains committed to advocating for the Palestinian cause, drawing strength from the support he feels he has within the broader Columbia community.