In a matter of weeks, Mohsen Mahdawi, a green card holder, went from ICE detention and fighting the Trump-Vance administration in court, to walking on stage in a light blue graduation robe to collect his diploma.
The Palestinian Columbia University student – detained by the Trump administration for his pro-Palestine and anti-war speech – joins Zeteo’s Prem Thakker just days after making his almost-stolen walk on graduation day.
Mahdawi says the combination of celebrating the Columbia community he loved while grappling with “the pro-war groups” that wanted to “rob” the opportunity from him – a Palestinian from a refugee camp and family torn apart by Israeli apartheid – was “bittersweet.”
He tells Prem about the moment ICE ambushed him in what his legal team describes as a “trap,” detaining him at a citizenship interview.
“They did not show me, at least, any paperwork that says that I must be detained, that [is] signed by a court, and, automatically, I gave them my hands, and I said, ‘I’m a peaceful man. I’m not going to resist,’” he says.
Mahdawi, who was released on bail late last month, also shares what it was like while he was in detention, the people he met there, his message to Americans now that he’s out, and more.
Watch the conversation above to hear from Mohsen Mahdawi, in his own words.
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