MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
A Columbia University student detained by authorities at his naturalization interview is free - for now. A federal judge in Vermont ordered Mohsen Mahdawi released on bond today. He'd been in prison for two weeks after his arrest earlier this month. Mahdawi is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., lives in Vermont and, as I mentioned, is a student at Columbia, where his pro-Palestinian activism caught the attention of the Trump administration. Vermont Public's Sabine Poux was at Mahdawi's hearing today in Burlington. Hi, Sabine.
SABINE POUX, BYLINE: Hey.
KELLY: So alert listeners will have recognized Mahdawi's name because he just gave NPR his first interview. Our colleague, Leila Fadel, sat down with him a few days ago inside a Vermont correctional facility, so this today is quite a twist. What did the judge say in his order?
POUX: Yes, so Judge Geoffrey Crawford said Mahdawi does not pose a threat to his community here in Vermont nor is he a flight risk, two points that the federal government was trying to argue in court today. And he also said that Mahdawi's continued detention would likely have a, quote, "chilling effect on protected speech." Now, that's something Mahdawi's lawyers have also argued. They maintain Mahdawi was arrested because he spoke out for the rights of Palestinian people while he was at Columbia. As a student, he cofounded the Palestinian Student Union and was a vocal advocate for peace in Gaza.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio referenced that activism in his justification for detaining Mahdawi. He said he should be deported because his advocacy threatened U.S. foreign policy goals. And in court today, the government also argued Mahdawi posed a threat to his community, referencing a decade-old police report that his lawyers say was investigated and closed years ago.
KELLY: I mentioned you were there at the courthouse today when he was set free. Describe the scene for me.
POUX: Yeah, so friends and supporters spent the morning gathered around the courthouse. Many of them cried and hugged each other when Mahdawi left the building after the hearing. He flashed peace signs and addressed the crowd while people cheered.
MOHSEN MAHDAWI: 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.
(CHEERING)
POUX: Now, in response to the judge's order, the Trump administration said it's committed to restoring the rule of law in the U.S. immigration system. And it said, quote, "no judge, not this one or any other, is going to stop us from doing that."
KELLY: Are there conditions on his release?
POUX: Yes. Judge Crawford said Mahdawi must continue to reside in Vermont, but he can travel to New York state for school or to meet with his lawyers, and that he must attend all court hearings in this case in person.
KELLY: And what does he say he's going to do next?
POUX: So even though he's been released from prison, the immigration case against him is only just beginning. Mahdawi's lawyers say there's a remote hearing in that case tomorrow. For now, though, he's free to go home. And that's a big relief to his community here in the Upper Valley region of Vermont. Mahdawi has a lot of friends who've been checking in on him while he's been in prison. I spoke with one of them, Don Foster, the week Mahdawi was detained. He says he's like one of his sons.
DON FOSTER: He's become an integral part of the Upper Valley. And the Upper Valley would be at a loss without Mohsen and people like Mohsen.
KELLY: Reporting there from Vermont Public, Sabine Poux. Thanks so much.
POUX: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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