US immigration release detained Palestinian Columbia University student following judge's order: Report

US immigration authorities on Wednesday released detained Palestinian Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi following a judge's order, CBS News reported.

United States immigration authorities on Wednesday released detained Palestinian Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi following a judge's order, CBS News reported.

FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators hold placards that read "Free Mohsen" in reference to Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian green card holder and student at Columbia University that was detained, as they gather at Foley Square calling for the release of Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., April 15, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo (REUTERS)

Mahdawi, born and raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank, was arrested earlier this month upon arriving for an interview for his U.S. citizenship petition. A judge swiftly ordered President Donald Trump's administration not to deport him from the United States or take him out of the state of Vermont.

Mahdawi plans to return for a master's degree in the fall of 2025, according to his lawyers.

His circumstances are similar to those of Palestinian student activist Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia student who was detained in the New York area on March 8 and taken to a Louisiana detention facility for deportation. Khalil is still detained.