A federal judge issued a temporary restriction order to keep Mohsen Mahdawi, Columbia’s student who was arrested during his citizenship interview last week, in Vermont while continuing his case.
In the written order presented on Thursday morning, the United States District Judge, Geoffrey Crawford, said the order was necessary to “prevent disputes” about the jurisdiction “or any other problem that may arise in the case of the involuntary movement of a petitioner between the states.”
On Wednesday, Judge Crawford said he was going to issue the temporary restriction order and ordered a hearing for next week to decide if Mahdawi should be released while the case continues.
Mahdawi, who co -founded a university organization called the Union of Palestinian Students with the student of Columbia Mahmoud Khalil, is a permanent resident of the United States and was taking his last step in the process so that he became an American citizen before his arrest, his lawyers said.
Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian man who directed protests against the War in Gaza as a student at Columbia University, arrested at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Office in Colchester, vt., April 14, 2025.
Christopher Helali/AP
During the hearing on Wednesday, Mahdawi’s lawyers argued that the federal judge in Vermont should preserve the jurisdiction of the court in the case and said that an immigration court “does not have the authority to address the atrocious violation of his first amendment.”
The judge seemed to agree with Mahdawi’s lawyers and pointed out that Mahdawi is a resident of Vermont and was arrested in the state.
Judge Crawford said he will give the government until Monday to respond to the motion of the liberation of Mahdawi lawyers.
Michael Drescher, the interim American prosecutor of the Vermont district, said Wednesday that he was not authorized to “justify” the extension of the tro to keep Mahdawi in Vermont. Drescher also requested the opportunity to respond to the motion of Mahdawi’s lawyer since Tuesday requesting his release.
“It is a privilege that is awarded a visa or a green card to live and study in the United States of America,” Tricia McLaughlin, undersecretary assistant to public affairs of the Department of National Security, told ABC News. “When lawyers for violence, glorify and support terrorists who enjoy the murder of Americans and harass the Jews, that privilege must be revoked, and you should not be in this country.”
