Overview
- A federal immigration judge ordered Mohsen Mahdawi deported to Jordan after the Board of Immigration Appeals reinstated removal proceedings, a decision reported on Wednesday.
- Mahdawi has filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and a separate habeas corpus petition that currently prevents him from being re detained or removed while litigation proceeds.
- The government argues Mahdawi’s pro Palestinian speech undermined U.S. foreign policy and invoked the so called 'foreign policy bar,' citing a memo that Mahdawi’s lawyers say was purportedly from Senator Marco Rubio.
- Mahdawi was detained for 16 days during a 2025 naturalization interview, an immigration judge in February 2026 previously terminated removal proceedings, and the BIA’s April reinstatement reopened the case.
- Advocates and recent court rulings frame the matter as a First Amendment and due process fight and legal experts say the outcome could shape how immigration law is used against noncitizen students who protest.