Columbia Grad Student Faces Deportation for Pro-Palestinian Speech — With No Criminal Charges
Columbia grad student Mohsen Mahdawi faces deportation solely for pro-Palestinian speech — no criminal charges filed — as the ACLU argues the government's legal basis has already been found likely unconstitutional by multiple federal courts.
Columbia University graduate student Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian refugee who has lived in the U.S. since 2014, is fighting a new deportation order after the Board of Immigration Appeals ruled last week that he is deportable — not for any crime, but for his pro-Palestinian activism. The government's case rests on a memo attributed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio arguing that Mahdawi's speech undermined U.S. foreign policy, invoking a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act that multiple federal courts have already flagged as likely unconstitutional. Mahdawi was previously jailed for 16 days in 2025 before an immigration judge terminated removal proceedings against him; the Trump administration subsequently removed two judges who ruled against its deportation efforts for Mahdawi and another student, Rümeysa Öztürk. The ACLU is representing Mahdawi and says he remains protected from removal while he appeals. If you are an international student who participates in campus activism, this case is a direct signal that protest activity — even without criminal charges — can trigger serious immigration consequences under current federal policy.
This issue draws on reporting and data from Inside Higher Ed.