The United States Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) has reinstated deportation proceedings against Palestinian student Mohsen Mahdawi, according to a court filing from his lawyers. The decision overturns a previous ruling by immigration judge Nina Froes, who had blocked the Trump administration's efforts to deport the Columbia University student.
Judge Froes ruled in February that the administration had failed to meet the burden of proof and dismissed its evidence as inadmissible. Last month, Froes was fired by the Trump administration. The BIA, part of the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review, overturned her decision.
In a statement cited by Reuters on Wednesday, Mahdawi accused the Trump regime of weaponizing the immigration system to silence his advocacy for Palestinian rights. “The government is trying to punish and deport me, a stateless Palestinian refugee from the occupied West Bank, because it opposes my peaceful advocacy for human dignity and equal rights for Palestinians. But I remain unafraid and faithful that justice will prevail in America and in Palestine,” he said.
Mahdawi was arrested last year during an interview with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He was detained for two weeks and not charged with a crime. His legal team said he was arrested under an obscure legal provision that allows Secretary of State Marco Rubio to seek the deportation of individuals deemed to pose “adverse foreign policy consequences” for the US.
The Trump regime has cracked down on pro-Palestinian movements by attempting to deport foreign protesters, threatening to freeze funds for universities where protests were held, and scrutinizing immigrants' online speech. Experts and activists have accused the administration of stifling free speech and academic freedom. The crackdown also faced legal and judicial roadblocks.
In March, the Trump regime filed a lawsuit against Harvard University worth billions of dollars, accusing the institution of violating the civil rights of Jewish and Israeli students in the aftermath of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.
Source: www.aljazeera.com