Overview
- Immigration Judge Nina Froes terminated removal proceedings against Mohsen Mahdawi on Feb. 13, with the order disclosed publicly in appellate filings on Feb. 17.
- The ruling said DHS submitted only an uncertified photocopy of a memorandum attributed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and therefore did not meet its burden of proof.
- The termination was entered without prejudice, leaving the administration the option to appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals or to refile a new case.
- Mahdawi, a Palestinian lawful permanent resident and Columbia student activist, was arrested at a 2025 citizenship interview in Vermont and released after a federal judge ordered his freedom.
- The decision, which was filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, follows a similar recent termination in the Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk case and underscores legal setbacks to the campus-activist crackdown.