US appeals court overturns lower court decision ordering the release of Mohsen Mahdawi, who was arrested in 2025 and faced deportation over his anti-American and pro-Hamas activism.By World Israel News StaffA federal appeals court has overturned the order that freed Columbia University activist Mohsen Mahdawi from immigration detention, ruling that his challenge must first proceed through the immigration court system.A unanimous three-judge panel of the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that a federal judge in Vermont lacked jurisdiction to order Mahdawi’s release in April 2025 while the Trump administration was pursuing his deportation.The ruling does not direct immigration authorities to arrest Mahdawi immediately. His lawyers said the decision has not yet taken effect and argued that the government has no legal basis to detain or deport him while further appeals remain pending.Mahdawi, a lawful permanent resident born in the Palestinian Authority, was arrested by federal immigration officers on April 14, 2025, after arriving at a Vermont immigration office for an interview connected to his application for US citizenship.He had been active in anti-Israel demonstrations at Columbia and was a co-founder of the university’s Palestinian Student Union. The Trump administration placed him in removal proceedings under a provision of immigration law allowing the secretary of state to seek the deportation of a noncitizen whose presence is deemed likely to cause serious harm to US foreign policy.Mahdawi is a member of Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which has called for the “eradication of Western civilization,” openly endorsed the use of violence, and promoted Hamas material on campus.Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that Mahdawi’s activities could undermine US foreign-policy interests. Mahdawi’s lawyers maintained that the government was retaliating against him for constitutionally protected political speech.US District Judge Geoffrey Crawford ordered Mahdawi released after approximately two weeks in custody, finding that he had raised substantial First Amendment claims. Crawford wrote at the time that “legal residents not charged with crimes or misconduct are being arrested and threatened with deportation for stating their views on the political issues of the day.”The appeals court did not rule on whether the administration violated Mahdawi’s First Amendment rights. Instead, it found that federal immigration law required him to raise those claims through the administrative removal process before seeking review in a federal appeals court.The panel said Mahdawi’s claims challenged “the government’s very basis for trying to remove” him and were therefore intertwined with the deportation proceedings.“We conclude that Section 242(b)(9) of the Immigration and Nationality Act channels Mahdawi’s claims initially to the administrative process,” Judge Debra Ann Livingston wrote for the court.Livingston was joined by Judges Steven Menashi and William Nardini. The court vacated Crawford’s release order and instructed the Vermont district court to dismiss Mahdawi’s habeas corpus petition for lack of jurisdiction.The ruling follows a similar decision involving Mahmoud Khalil, another former Columbia activist targeted for deportation by the Trump administration. The 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Khalil’s case that his claims also had to move through the immigration system before they could be reviewed by a federal court.The government argued that allowing district judges to intervene before removal proceedings were completed would circumvent limits Congress placed on judicial review of immigration cases.The Department of Homeland Security called Tuesday’s decision “a win for public safety and the rule of law.”The appellate opinion also detailed allegations the government presented while opposing Mahdawi’s release. Those included a 2015 police report in which a Vermont gun-store owner alleged that Mahdawi had sought to purchase firearms while claiming that he “used to build… submachine guns to kill Jews.”“I like to kill Jews,” Mahdawi was quoted as saying.Mahdawi denied the allegations. The court noted that an FBI agent interviewed him but later closed the inquiry. The government also cited a 2019 border incident involving suspected drugs, although the resulting charges were dismissed and the record was expunged after Mahdawi completed a diversion program. Mahdawi denied possessing illegal drugs.Mahdawi has not been charged with a crime in connection with the Columbia demonstrations or the government’s deportation case.His immigration proceedings have followed a complicated path. An immigration judge dismissed the case in February after finding that the government had failed to properly authenticate Rubio’s determination. The Justice Department’s Board of Immigration Appeals later reversed that decision, reinstated the proceedings and returned the case to the immigration court, which subsequently issued a removal order.Mahdawi is challenging that order before the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals.The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents Mahdawi, said it would continue contesting Tuesday’s ruling.Mahdawi called the decision “a grave setback” and said it would give the government “the power to intimidate, censor, and punish dissent without meaningful restraint.”“I still have faith that the full court will correct the legal error and restore the constitutional principles that protect all people equally,” he said.Mahdawi may ask the full 2nd Circuit to reconsider the panel’s decision or seek review by the US Supreme Court.The post Federal court reverses decision to release pro-Hamas Palestinian activist appeared first on World Israel News.