“A pro-Palestinian activist who has spent 17 years and counting in college can be detained pending removal proceedings, an appeals court ruled. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a decision by a district court in Vermont that ruled Mohsen Madawi must be released from ICE custody. Judges ruled Tuesday that the district court did not have subject-matter jurisdiction” over Madawi’s petition challenging his detention, reports The College Fix:
Madawi is currently a graduate student at Columbia University and has participated in anti-Israel protests…..After coming to the United States, he spent two years at Lehigh University studying computer science, followed by a transfer to Columbia University to study philosophy.
He is set to finish a master’s degree in international affairs by 2027, The College Fix previously reported.
The Trump administration wants to remove Madawi because his “presence or activities in the United States would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
Supporters, including the American Civil Liberties Union, argue he is being targeted for expressing his First Amendment rights.
The appeals court said Madawi had to first appeal the order of removal to the Board of Immigration Appeals, and then appeal that board’s denial to it, rather than challenging his removal in a district court in Vermont.
Madawi has also unsuccessfully appealed the order of removal to the Board of Immigration Appeals, and now can appeal from it to the appeals court. But it will probably take another year before the appeals court rules on his appeal from the Board of Immigration Appeals.
So in the meantime, he remains detained.
