Palestinian student Mohsen Mahdawi calls release ‘a victory for democracy’

Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi called his recent release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention a “victory for democracy.” 

Mahdawi recounted the day he was detained by federal immigration authorities in mid-April while he was at a naturalization interview to become a U.S. citizen.

“The Department of Homeland Security’s plan did not go smoothly, as we missed the flight to Louisiana by minutes," he wrote in an op-ed published by The New York Times on Friday. "Those few minutes changed the course of my legal case and, ultimately, led to my freedom from detention because I was able to fight for my rights on fair ground."

“Unlike other students who continue to languish in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, I’ve been afforded the ‘privilege’ to seek justice while not in prison,” Mahdawi added. 

He was released from detention on Wednesday after U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford said it was in the public's interest for the student, a green card holder, to be freed. He was being held in the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans, Vt.

Mahdawi is the first international student to be released from custody amid President Trump's crackdown on immigration and perceived retribution for pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses. The White House has looked to deport him and other protestors, arguing they are actively undermining U.S. foreign policy. 

In his op-ed, the student said he "never lost hope."

“Despite spending 16 nights in a jail cell, I never lost hope in the inevitability of justice and the principles of democracy," Mahdawi wrote. "I wanted to become a citizen of this country because I believe in the principles that it enshrines."

He added that his freedom is “intertwined with the freedom of the other students, who exercised the same free speech rights as I did yet languish in jail, and is intertwined with that of the Palestinians, who are fighting for their right to life and justice, too.” 

Mahdawi also argued that by attempting to deport him, the Trump administration's message is that there is no “room for dissent, free speech be damned.” 

“It seems willing to shield an extremist Israeli government from criticism at the expense of constitutional rights, all while suppressing the possibility of a peaceful future for both Palestinians and Israelis, a future free of trauma and fear,” the Columbia University student said. 

During another recent interview, Mahdawi said the U.S. is the first country where he has experienced freedom. In Friday's piece, he noted that those same liberties are under “attack” today. 

“Once the repression of dissent, in the name of security, becomes a key objective of a government, authoritarian rule and even martial law are not far off,” Mahdawi wrote.

The student added, “When they look at my case, all Americans should ask themselves: What is left of our democracy, and who will be targeted next?”