(COLCHESTER, Vt.) — A federal judge in Vermont set a hearing for next Wednesday to decide whether to release Mohsen Mahdawi, the Columbia student who was arrested last week, while his case proceeds.
Mahdawi, who was arrested last Monday during his citizenship interview, was present during the hearing.
U.S. District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford kicked off Wednesday’s hearing by asking Mahdawi if he was being treated well in the deletion facility in Vermont.
“I’m grateful for the kindness of the state, your honor,” Mahdawi said.
Before briefly discussing the motion from Mahdawi’s attorneys to release him, Judge Crawford extended the temporary restraining order that was issued by a separate judge last week to keep Mahdawi in Vermont.
“I don’t want Mr. Mahdawi to be whisked away to another state,” Judge Crawford said.
Mahdawi, who co-founded a university organization called Palestinian Student Union with detained Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil, is a permanent resident of the U.S. and was taking his last step in the process for him to become a U.S. citizen before his arrest, his attorneys said.
In a court filing on Monday, Mahdawi’s attorneys said that he is not a flight risk or a danger to the community.
Mahdawi’s attorneys said his release is necessary to avoid “what is a devastating punitive consequence of Mahdawi’s continued detention, namely, the disruption of his education.”
During the hearing Wednesday, attorneys for Mahdawi argued that the federal judge in Vermont should preserve the court’s jurisdiction in the case and said that an immigration court “does not have the authority to address the egregious violation of his First Amendment.”
The judge seemed to agree with Mahdawi’s attorneys and pointed out that Mahdawi is a Vermont resident and that he was arrested in the state.
“If he’s moved to another state, it creates a second tier of issues,” Judge Crawford said. “He’s a Vermont resident, he was arrested in Vermont.”
The judge said that he will give the government until Monday to reply to Mahdawi’s attorneys’ motion for release.
During the hearing, Michael Drescher, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Vermont, said he was not authorized to “justify” the extension of the TRO to keep Mahdawi in Vermont. Drescher also requested an opportunity to respond to Mahdawi’s attorney’s motion from Tuesday requesting his release.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately reply to ABC News’ request for comment.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
