Mohsen Mahdawi, the Columbia graduate student who was captured by the Department of Homeland Security on April 14 in an attempt to deport him despite his green card status and not having been charged with any crime, was released from federal custody this morning after a hearing at the federal courthouse in Burlington.
As Mahdawi was escorted to a DHS vehicle in handcuffs earlier this month, he raised his hands and made a peace sign with his fingers to supporters who were filming his arrest. Today, two weeks later, Mahdawi emerged from the courthouse with his arms raised high, his fingers in the same peace sign, this time with his arms free of handcuffs or restraints.
The assembled crowd outside the courthouse had gathered since 8:00am to rally in support of Mahdawi in advance of the 9:00 hearing. Among the speakers was Burlington City Councilor Marek Broderick, who told attendees of the council’s unanimous passage on Monday of a resolution in support of Mahdawi and other detained activists. The resolution, brought forward by Progressives on the council, calls for a defense of First Amendment free speech rights and the immediate release of Mahdawi, Rümeysa Öztürk, and Mahmoud Khalil. Proponents say it is the first resolution to successfully pass Burlington City Council that refers to Palestine and the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Broderick reminded the crowd that not just resolutions but action is required, and that the struggle is against a much larger system, not just its most extreme elements.
“We will not stop until all of us are free from Vermont to Palestine, because if we do not continue to fight for those being attacked now, we will all be trampled under the boot of fascism,” Broderick said. “We know what Republicans say and do, but we must remember that it was the Obama administration that saw to the most deportations in modern times. It was Joe Biden who aided and abetted genocide and first co-signed the persecution of student activists by coming out against our right to peacefully assemble on college campuses. Given that, is it any surprise to you that we find ourselves where we are when it seems that the red carpet was rolled out right in front of us, our systems continue to fail us, and only we can protect ourselves by organizing and standing together in defiance.”
Wafic Faour, who leads Vermonters for Justice in Palestine, was among those who attended the hearing. The courtroom was so packed that an overflow room with a video feed was set up. For the first two-thirds of the hearing, the mood among supporters was tense. “I felt sick to my stomach, you know, I was on needles,” Faour said. “Later I started to relax a little, and then was waiting, waiting, to hear ‘Mohsen Mahdawi is free to go.’” When the order by Judge Crawford was finally given, the whole room erupted in elated shouts of joy, jumping, and applause. As Faour and others emerged outside to deliver the news, the mood carried to the rest of the assembled supporters. Faour handed the microphone to Mahdawi, who gave an impromptu speech to the crowd.
And from this place in front of this court, me standing here in front of you, me standing here with you, among you, sends a clear message, it sends a message that is loud and clear, not only to the Vermonters, but to the rest of America. And the message is: we, the people, will hold the Constitution accountable for the principles and values that we believe in. And we send a clear message as well, that if we have faith in our beliefs, unshakable beliefs, which is the belief that justice is inevitable, we will not fear anyone, because our fight is a fight for love, is a fight for democracy, is a fight for humanity.
And I am saying it clear and loud to President Trump and his cabinet: I am not afraid of you. And if there is no fear, what is it replaced with? Love. Love is our way.
Mahdawi also shared how close he came to being immediately flown out of state before local courts could intervene, which might have meant a very different outcome than what he is celebrating today. Mahdawi had been seized by federal agents of Homeland Security Investigations after entering the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Colchester. He was at the office to ostensibly take his citizenship test.
They had a plan that was orchestrated, put in place, and they were starting to orchestrate it. So directly after I was taken into the processing center, they had already my flight tickets printed. They took me to Burlington Airport, and we just missed the airplane, which is a commercial airplane, by nine minutes. This is one reason why I stayed in Vermont. The other reason, of course, is the very quick and the swift work, intelligent work that my legal team has done.
Mahdawi’s legal proceedings continue tomorrow with an immigration court hearing, but he can no longer be arbitrarily detained. While the process is not yet over, Mahdawi and his lawyers are feeling happy and hopeful today.
Popular pressure for the release of Mahdawi and other immigrants who have been targeted for their free speech has grown across the country, and has helped re-galvanize the Palestine solidarity movement in Vermont, pulling in new supporters and activists.
Just two days after Mahdawi’s arrest, more than a hundred Vermonters assembled on a rural road in St. Albans by the Northwest State Correctional Facility, braving the cold and rain to demand his release from that prison.
One of the speakers at the rally said, “There’s a reason this is happening: it’s because they are afraid of us. And we have to understand that is going to continue to happen. We have to understand that when we fight back, the repression is inevitable. When we fight back, when we pose a threat to power, that power is going to do everything that it can to make sure that we are fearful, that we keep our heads down, that we are silent. It is inevitable. But what is not inevitable is us giving in, us capitulating. And we are here today to say that we will never capitulate, we will never stop fighting.”
Patrick is a writer and organizer based in northern Vermont. He is on the editorial collective for The Rake Vermont.
