Federal Judge Orders Release of Columbia Student Detained by ICE

A federal judge ordered the release of Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian student at Columbia University, from U.S. immigration detention after he was arrested following a citizenship interview. Mahdawi, who was born in a West Bank refugee camp, had been detained earlier in April and faced restrictions on his movement within Vermont after his release. His case has drawn attention as one of the first instances of a detained foreign student being granted bail amid heightened immigration enforcement. Mahdawi plans to resume his studies and pursue a master's degree. The detention and release of Mahdawi parallels that of Mahmoud Khalil, another Palestinian student at Columbia who remains in custody with ongoing deportation proceedings.