Tensions Intensify at Columbia as Demonstrators Decry Student Detentions

2025-04-22 04:39:44

(MENAFN) On Monday, demonstrators chained themselves to the gates of Columbia University, calling for the release of two Palestinian student activists.

The protest took place at the intersection of 116th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in New York City, just a week after Mohsen Mahdawi—a former Columbia student organizer and legal permanent resident—was detained during a citizenship interview at a USCIS office in Vermont.

Protesters also urged the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia graduate and green card holder who was arrested by ICE on March 8. His detention followed an order by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to revoke both his student visa and green card.

Participants carried signs reading "Free Our Brothers, Free Mahmoud, Free Mohsen," "Free Our Prisoners, Free Them All," and “Free All Our Political Prisoners,” while chanting, “We want justice, you say how? Free Mohsen Mahdawi now!”

Mahdawi is the ninth Columbia student to face deportation amid efforts targeting international students involved in pro-Palestinian activism.

These actions fall under a series of executive measures by President Donald Trump aimed at expelling foreign nationals perceived to exhibit "hostile attitudes" toward the U.S. These policies include a crackdown on what Trump has labeled antisemitism, which has led to the deportation of international students participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses.

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