Vermont profile: Mohsen Mahdawi
VTDigger revisited Mohsen Mahdawi one year after his arrest, focusing on his refusal to be silent and his continued public-facing stance. The profile discusses how his persistence has been sustained by local networks and frames his visibility as a deliberate political posture. (vtdigger.org)
A year after federal agents arrested Mohsen Mahdawi at a citizenship interview in Colchester, he is still speaking publicly in Vermont and still fighting deportation. (vtdigger.org) Mahdawi, a White River Junction resident and lawful permanent resident, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on April 14, 2025, when he arrived for a naturalization interview at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Colchester. His lawyers said agents in plainclothes arrested him and put him in an unmarked vehicle. (vermontpublic.org) (aclu.org) He spent about two weeks in custody before United States District Judge Geoffrey Crawford ordered his release on bail on April 30, 2025, while his habeas case moved forward in federal court. The American Civil Liberties Union said the government asked for a seven-day stay and Crawford denied it. (aclu.org 1) (aclu.org 2) The case grew out of Mahdawi’s role in pro-Palestinian activism tied to Columbia University, where he helped found the Palestinian Student Union in 2023 and took part in campus protests over the war in Gaza. Federal officials argued that his activism threatened United States foreign policy interests, and Mahdawi and his lawyers rejected that claim. (vermontpublic.org) (cbsnews.com) His immigration case shifted again on February 11, 2026, when Immigration Judge Nina Froes terminated the removal proceedings after finding the government had not properly authenticated a memo attributed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Department of Homeland Security appealed in late February, and Vermont Public reported on March 17 that the government was trying to restart the case before the Board of Immigration Appeals. (vermontpublic.org 1) (vermontpublic.org 2) VTDigger’s new profile says Mahdawi has answered that pressure by staying visible instead of retreating. The story describes him continuing to speak in public and leaning on supporters in the Upper Valley and across Vermont one year after the arrest. (vtdigger.org) That local backing has been public for months. State Senator Becca White said she witnessed Mahdawi being taken away in Colchester in April 2025, and Vermont lawmakers later passed a Senate resolution describing him as a White River Junction resident and decade-long green card holder. (vermontpublic.org) (legislature.vermont.gov) The federal government has also pushed a sharply different account. In a May 9, 2025, statement, the Department of Homeland Security called Mahdawi a national security threat and cited allegations from older police and court records; Mahdawi’s lawyers have said the government is retaliating against protected speech and have challenged the evidence in court. (dhs.gov) (vermontpublic.org) As of mid-April 2026, Mahdawi is free on bail, his federal challenge remains active, and the government’s appeal of the terminated deportation case is still pending. One year after the arrest, the central fact has not changed: he is still in public, and the government is still trying to remove him. (vermontpublic.org) (vtdigger.org)
