Mahdawi Free on Bail, Awaits Trial for Removal

Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi is free on bail after a judge ordered his release from federal immigration custody on April 30, weeks after armed DHS agents detained him in Vermont during his naturalization interview.

Mahdawi, a 34-year-old U.S. permanent resident who was born and raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank, was detained April 14 and had been held at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, the Northwest State Correctional Facility, in St. Albans, Vermont.

“I am saying it clear and loud to President Trump and his Cabinet: I am not afraid of you,” Mahdawi said Wednesday outside the Vermont courthouse after his release.

In an extensive interview with NPR, Mahdawi remarked: “I am centered internally. I am at peace. While I still know deeply that this is a level of injustice that I am facing, I have faith. I have faith that justice will prevail.”

Buddhist leaders in America have circulated a letter calling for the immediate release of Mohsen Mahdawi. He was a former president of the Columbia University Buddhist Association.

The letter, signed by dozens of Buddhist leaders in the US, reads as follows:

We, the undersigned one hundred and thirty five Buddhist teachers, practitioners, and supporters of human rights, write with profound alarm regarding the unjust detention of Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student, permanent U.S. resident for ten years, and former president of the Columbia University Buddhist Association.

On April 14, 2025, Mohsen Mahdawi arrived at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Vermont for what should have been a culminating moment in his decade-long journey toward American citizenship. Instead, he was handcuffed and taken away by ICE agents who refused to disclose his destination or legal status—a traumatic violation of dignity that no human being should endure.

The circumstances of Mohsen’s detention reveal a disturbing pattern of human rights abuses:

1. **Violation of Due Process**: As a legal permanent resident since 2015 with no criminal charges, Mohsen’s detention at his own citizenship interview represents an extraordinary breach of legal norms and basic human dignity.

2. **Targeted Political Repression**: This detention appears to be direct retaliation for Mohsen’s constitutionally protected speech advocating for Palestinian human rights—a dangerous precedent that threatens the foundational freedoms upon which our society depends.

3. **Silencing a Voice for Peace**: Mohsen has demonstrated consistent commitment to Buddhist principles of nonviolence and compassion. He actively built bridges between communities and directly confronted antisemitism, once leading students to remove a heckler who shouted antisemitic threats at a rally while thanking “Jewish brothers and sisters who stand with us.”

4. **Bipartisan Condemnation**: Vermont’s congressional delegation—Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Peter Welch, and Representative Becca Balint—have unequivocally denounced this action as “immoral, inhumane and illegal,” demanding Mohsen’s immediate release.

Mohsen’s case is not isolated but part of an escalating pattern of detentions targeting those who exercise their right to free expression. This includes Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Öztürk, similarly detained after speaking out, and Kilmer Abrego Garcia, who remains imprisoned in El Salvador despite Supreme Court orders mandating his return to the United States.

These actions reveal a systematic assault on human rights that should concern every person of conscience, regardless of political affiliation or religious belief. When a government targets individuals based on their identity and peaceful advocacy, the foundation of democratic society itself is threatened.

As Buddhists, we recognize the interconnectedness of all beings. When one person’s rights are violated, all of humanity is diminished. The freedom to speak truth without fear of persecution is not merely a legal principle—it is essential to human dignity and collective liberation.

We therefore make these urgent demands:

1. The immediate release of Mohsen Mahdawi and all others similarly detained for protected speech

2. Full transparency regarding the legal justification for these detentions

3. Concrete assurances that due process rights will be respected in all immigration proceedings

4. An immediate end to the targeting of activists based on their identity or protected expression

We stand in unwavering solidarity with those whose voices have been silenced and whose freedom has been unjustly taken. Their suffering is our suffering. Their freedom is our freedom. Their humanity is our shared humanity.

We call upon all who value compassion, justice, and human dignity to join us in speaking out. The time for silence has passed. The moment for moral courage has arrived.

In steadfast commitment to justice and human dignity,

Sincerely,

[signed by leaders of Buddhist sanghas across the US]