A federal appeals panel has tossed out a lower court ruling that freed Columbia University graduate student Mohsen Mahdawi from immigration custody. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued its decision, ordering the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont to dismiss Mahdawi’s case.

Background

Mahdawi, 35, is a lawful permanent resident and a West Bank native who has lived in the United States since 2014. Federal agents arrested him on April 14, 2025, following a naturalization interview in Colchester, Vermont. Immigration officials moved to remove Mahdawi under a finding by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who determined that Mahdawi’s presence and activities presented “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”

The government cited allegations that Mahdawi engaged in threatening rhetoric and targeted pro-Israeli bystanders during campus protests over the war in Gaza. Mahdawi filed a habeas petition the same day he was taken into custody, alleging federal officials targeted him in retaliation for his constitutionally protected speech advocating for Palestinian rights.

Appeals Court Decision

In the appellate ruling, the panel found the district court erred by intervening in the ongoing removal process. The court concluded that Mahdawi’s First Amendment and due process claims directly challenge the government’s underlying grounds for removing him, making them subject to statutory limits on federal court jurisdiction.

Circuit Judge Debra Ann Livingston wrote, “Congress specifically prohibited the use of habeas corpus petitions to review any questions of law or fact, including interpretation and application of constitutional and statutory provisions, arising from actions taken to remove an alien from the United States.”

Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.