Mohsen Mahadavi speaks outside court after a judge freed a Palestinian student activist on April 30, 2025 in Burlington, Vt. Photo credit: AP
An immigration judge has blocked the Trump administration from deporting Mohsen Mahdavi, a Palestinian graduate student who led protests at Columbia University against the war in Israel and Gaza.
In a public ruling on Tuesday (February 17, 2026), the judge, Nina Froese, said the case was closed because government prosecutors had committed a procedural error in failing to properly authenticate an official document they intended to use as evidence.
The Trump administration may appeal the decision. But the ruling marked the latest setback in a broader effort by the federal government to expel pro-Palestinian campus activists and others critical of Israel.
Last month, special immigration blocked a government effort to deport Rümeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University graduate student, over an op-ed criticizing the school’s response to the war in Gaza.
A legal permanent resident of the US for the past decade, Mr. Mahdavi was born in a refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He was arrested by immigration agents during a citizenship interview last April but released by a federal judge two weeks later.
Within months, the administration continued its push to deport him, citing a memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio arguing that deporting non-citizens from the country would undermine US foreign policy interests.
Government attorneys submitted a photocopy of the document to an immigration judge, but they failed to verify it as required by federal law, the judge wrote.
“I thank the court for respecting the rule of law and for holding the line against the government’s attempts to undermine due process,” Mr Mahadavi said in a statement released by his lawyers. “This decision is an important step in vindicating what fear has sought to destroy: the right to speak out for peace and justice.”
Mr. Mahadavi also filed a separate case in federal district court, arguing that he was illegally detained. His lawyers said the case is still ongoing.
Inquiries to the Department of Homeland Security were not immediately returned.
Published – February 18, 2026 10:35 am IST
