Columbia student freed from prison will help launch immigrant legal aid initiative

A Palestinian student who was arrested during an interview about finalizing his U.S. citizenship is helping launch an initiative to help other immigrants facing deportation in Vermont on Thursday, a week after a federal judge freed him from custody.

Mohsen Mahdawi, 34, was expected to join Vermont State Treasurer Mike Pieciak, Senate Majority Leader Kesha Ram Hinsdale and community advocates at the Statehouse to announce the Vermont Immigration Legal Defense Fund. The group, which also includes lawyers and philanthropists, says the goal is to improve access to legal advice for immigrants and build long-term infrastructure within the justice system as it pertains to immigration law.

Mahdawi, a green card holder who led protests against Israel's war in Gaza at Columbia University, spent 16 days in a state prison before a judge ordered him released on April 30. The Trump administration has said Mahdawi should be deported because his activism threatens its foreign policy goals, but the judge ruled that he has raised a "substantial claim" that the government arrested him to stifle speech with which it disagrees.