BOSTON – Mohsen Mahdawi, a graduate student at Columbia University, has appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) finding him deportable. The BIA decision was followed by an order of removal order issued by an immigration judge, but because of Mr. Mahdawi’s separate habeas case in federal court, he remains protected against re-detention or deportation while his appeals continue.
The BIA decision is based on the allegation, in a memo purportedly from Marco Rubio, that Mr. Mahdawi’s speech in support of Palestinian human rights undermined U.S. foreign policy (the so-called “foreign policy bar” of the Immigration and Nationality Act). The use of this provision to target the speech of noncitizens has been found to be likely unconstitutional by several federal courts.
"I come from a refugee camp in Palestine, where my family still resides. I know what it means to live without rights, without voice, without safety. America was the first place I ever felt true freedom and dignity,” said Mohsen Mahdawi. “For over a decade I have built my life here, loved this community, and chosen this country's ideals as my own. That is the country I chose — and now the administration is abusing immigration law to silence me for speaking the truth about Palestinian suffering and genocide. When a government weaponizes immigration to punish speech, millions of immigrants and citizens feel that blow. This fight belongs to all who believe in democracy and every person willing to stand together in defense of the First Amendment. I take this fight to the First Circuit with love and faith — because the First Amendment is sacred, and I refuse to be silenced."
An immigration judge had dismissed his immigration case in February because it found that the government had not supported its charge with the proper documentation. The government appealed to the BIA, which quickly reinstated the government’s case against him and sent the case back to a new judge within the Trump administration-controlled immigration court system for consideration of any applications for relief from deportation. Mr. Mahdawi notified the new judge last week that he would not be seeking asylum or similar relief, and instead would be directly challenging the government’s illegal and unconstitutional attempt to strip his lawful permanent resident status. Last Wednesday, the immigration judge issued a new removal order on the basis that “removability was previously determined” by the BIA.
“The original immigration judge correctly dismissed Mohsen's immigration case before she had been fired, and the government cynically appealed the case within the Trump administration-controlled immigration court system knowing that the BIA would reverse,” said Cyrus Mehta of Cyrus D. Mehta & Partners, PLLC. “We look forward to vindicating Mohsen's First Amendment rights in the First Circuit Court of Appeals as well as the First Amendment rights of all other noncitizens living in the United States."
Mr. Mahdawi’s case is proceeding along two separate tracks. In addition to his ongoing immigration case, his habeas petition is being litigated in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, where the government is trying to advance an extreme argument that noncitizens detained in retaliation for their speech should have to wait in detention for months or even years before a federal court can step in to protect their First Amendment rights. Today, Mr. Mahdawi’s legal team alerted the Second Circuit of these developments in the immigration case.
“The First Amendment protects all of us from government censorship, citizen or not,” said Nate Freed Wessler, deputy director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “Mohsen should never have been detained for his speech, and a federal judge has already agreed. The government’s continued persecution of our client for his beliefs should send a chill down the spine of everyone in this country, because once we start allowing exceptions to the First Amendment for speech the current government doesn’t like, there’s no telling where the censorship will stop.”
Mr. Mahdawi, a green card holder, was detained in April 2025 at the conclusion of his citizenship interview. He was held in ICE custody for over two weeks before being released on bail by the U.S. District Court in Vermont. In that bail order, Judge Geoffrey Crawford said the government’s detention of Mr. Mahdawi and other noncitizens under similar circumstances was reminiscent of the McCarthy era.
Mr. Mahdawi is represented by Cyrus Mehta and David Isaacson of Cyrus D. Mehta & Partners, PLLC; Luna Droubi, Matthew Melewski and Tala Alfoqaha of Beldock Levine & Hoffman LLP; Andrew Delaney of Martin Delaney & Ricci Law Group; CLEAR; the American Civil Liberties Union; and the ACLU of Vermont.
This press release can be viewed here.
Today’s filing can be viewed here.
ACLU Media, [email protected]
ACLU of Vermont, [email protected]
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