The Left's New Hero: ICE Reportedly Arrest Columbia University Pro-Hamas Protest Leader

As Twitchy reported, an immigration judge has ruled that Columbia University pro-Hamas activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported from the U.S. The judge has set an April 23 deadline for Khalil's lawyers to file applications for relief to stop deportation, which they most certainly will. Many leftists are arguing that Khalil is being punished for exercising his right to free speech, and Senate Judiciary Democrats posted a photo of the graduate student to X with the caption, "Free Mahmoud Khalil."

It looks as though the Left has a new martyr — ICE has reportedly arrested another Columbia University student for violating the terms of his green card.

Breaking: ICE has reportedly arrested Columbia University pro-Hamas protest leader Mohsen Mahdawi pic.twitter.com/VxHPNppnFV
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) April 14, 2025

Footage of Columbia University pro-Hamas leader Mohsen Mahdawi's arrest.

Mahdawi—who holds a green card—was arrested during a visit to an immigration office in Vermont, where he was attending his interview to become a U.S. citizen.

Guess the interview didn't go too well. https://t.co/LuwxnbHKbz pic.twitter.com/iD4kYLhqNy
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) April 14, 2025

Sen. Bernie Sanders has already released a statement claiming Mohsen Mahdawi was illegally detained by ICE.

Mohsen Mahdawi of White River Junction, Vermont was illegally detained by ICE during what was supposed to be the final step in his citizenship process.

Mr. Mahdawi, a legal resident of the US, must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention. pic.twitter.com/URoGmqa7Td
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) April 14, 2025

ABC 7 in New York reports:

At Columbia University, where he recently attended, Mohsen Mahdawi was an "outspoken critic of Israel's military campaign in Gaza and an activist and organizer in student protests on Columbia's campus until March of 2024, after which he took a step back and has not been involved in organizing," according to a habeas petition obtained by ABC News.
Mahdawi's attorneys called his arrest "unlawful" and said it violates the First Amendment.
According to the habeas petition, Mahdawi was born and raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank until 2014 when he moved to the U.S. He has been a legal resident for the last 10 years and is expected to graduate Columbia University next month.
In December of 2023, Mahdawi appeared on 60 Minutes where he shared that, "as a child, he watched an Israeli soldier shoot and kill his best friend in the West Bank," the petition said.