(Adnkronos) – A judge has blocked the deportation of Moshen Mahdawi, a Palestinian student who led protests at Columbia University against Israel and the war in Gaza. In the ruling, Judge Nina Froes, who handles immigration cases, blocked the procedure initiated by the Trump administration due to procedural flaws by government lawyers who allegedly failed to properly certify a document used as evidence against Mahdawi.
The administration can now appeal the ruling, which appears to be yet another judicial decision against the campaign, launched last year, to expel foreign students from America who protested against the war in Gaza. Mahdawi, who had held a green card, a permanent residence permit, for ten years, was arrested last April during what he believed to be a citizenship interview. He was then released two weeks later, following a federal judge’s order.
In recent months, the administration has continued the process for his deportation, based on a memo by Marco Rubio which states that non-citizens can be expelled if their presence undermines US foreign policy interests. But the judge contested the fact that the lawyers presented a simple photocopy of the document, without certification. “I am grateful to the court for upholding the rule of law against the government’s attempt to trample due process, this decision is an important step in maintaining the right to speak for peace and justice,” said Mahdawi, who has always denied the Trump administration’s accusation of having used “intimidating rhetoric” towards pro-Israel students during the Columbia protests.
