Mohsen Mahdawi Freed from ICE Detention in Free Speech Victory | Palestine Policy Roundup 05.06.25
Welcome to the Palestine Policy Roundup, a weekly publication of the IMEU Policy Project.
👀 ICYMI: MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SPEAK OUT
Rep. Nydia Velázquez: “Mohsen Mahdawi was targeted by the Trump administration for standing up for peace and Palestinian rights. Yesterday, we stood at the State Department demanding his release. Today, a judge ordered it. We won't stop fighting until all these students are freed.”
Sen. Jeff Merkley: “The specter of famine looms over more than 2 million people in Gaza, including countless children. Israel’s blockade is starving communities, and as a key economic and security partner, the U.S. must use its leverage to DEMAND CHANGE NOW.”
Rep. Ayanna Pressley: “Mohsen Mahdawi's release is an encouraging step in the fight to defend our constitutional rights to due process & free speech. Now, the Administration must release Rümeysa Öztürk, Mahmoud Khalil, and everyone unjustly detained who may not have made headlines. We have not forgotten about you and we will fight for your rights daily.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib: “The government of Israel is starving Gaza to death. It’s a war crime to use starvation as a weapon. The only way to end this genocide is with an arms embargo. Time for my colleagues to end their silence.”
DC DEVELOPMENTS
📣 SENATE HELP COMMITTEE FAILS TO PASS BILL THAT WOULD ADVANCE TRUMP’S ATTACKS ON FREE SPEECH
Last Wednesday, the Senate HELP Committee held a markup of S. 558, the misnamed Antisemitism Awareness Act, a bill which is designed to give the Trump administration more tools to suppress constitutionally protected speech on college campuses in support of Palestinian rights and further intensify the extremist MAGA assault on higher education.
Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy delayed the vote on advancing the bill after a contentious hearing that correctly highlighted the threat to free speech that the bill poses. Committee Democrats also offered amendments to the bill that sought to protect free speech in support of Palestinian rights, four of which were passed with Republican support. The bill’s future is now unclear as Republican committee members are refusing to support the bill with the approved amendments.
S.558 would chill free speech in support of Palestinian rights by codifying into law that the Department of Education “shall take into consideration” the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) inaccurate definition of antisemitism when determining if a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act has occurred.
This definition of antisemitism conflates First Amendment-protected political speech critical of the policies of the Israeli government with antisemitism and it has already failed a test in federal court: last year, a federal judge in Texas ruled that Texas universities’ usage of the definition violates the First Amendment, and that incorporation of the definition into speech policies is viewpoint discrimination.
This dangerous tool facilitates President Trump’s extremist assault on protected speech in support of Palestinian rights. As the Trump administration continues to detain students and activists who speak out in support of Palestinian rights, such as Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk, it’s more important than ever that members of Congress deny President Trump additional tools in his assault on free speech.
📖 LEARN MORE: Check out IMEU Policy Project’s policy memo on the Antisemitism Awareness Act voted on in the last Congress and a policy analysis on how the IHRA definition of antisemitism chills free speech from our affiliated organization, the IMEU.
IN THE NEWS
⛓️ PALESTINIAN STUDENT MOHSEN MAHDAWI RELEASED FROM ICE DETENTION
Last Wednesday, Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi was released from ICE detention after a ruling by a Vermont federal judge. Mahdawi’s release is pending the resolution of his habeas petition that challenges his detention by ICE. He was one of the countless students and scholars who have been targeted and detained over their speech and action in support of Palestinian rights.
This is an important victory in the fight against the Trump administration’s attack on support for Palestinian rights. Last month the federal government made clear that it targeted Mahdawi because of his speech in support of Palestinian rights. Like Mahmoud Khalil, Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered Mahdawi to be deported using a draconian provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act without any due process.
🔑 KEY TAKEAWAY: Mohsen Mahdawi wrote about his case in an op-ed in The New York Times: “By seeking to deport me, the Trump administration is sending a clear message: There is no room for dissent, free speech be damned. It seems willing to shield an extremist Israeli government from criticism at the expense of constitutional rights, all while suppressing the possibility of a peaceful future for both Palestinians and Israelis, a future free of trauma and fear…My case reveals how the struggles for justice for Americans and Palestinians are connected. Americans must decide whether to support war or peace, oppression or democracy. If we cannot speak up against the killing of children and what human rights experts have called a genocide in Gaza, what can we speak out against?”
In his ruling Judge Geoffrey Crawford wrote that Mahdawi’s speech and action were protected by the First Amendment and criticized the Trump administration’s crackdown on foreign students who speak out and take action in support of Palestinian rights. Crawford also referenced the case of Rümeysa Öztürk and compared their detentions to other cases in which the federal government cracked down on free speech. He also reiterated that noncitizens hold the same First Amendment rights as citizens.
While this is a victory in Mahdawi’s case, it’s far from over: his immigration case and his challenge to his detention by ICE will be heard soon. Still, this important legal victory could have important implications for the cases of Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk and is a defeat for President Trump’s extremist MAGA assault on free speech and the extremist MAGA agenda of mass deportations.
PALESTINE/ISRAEL DEVELOPMENTS
🍎 PALESTINIANS ARE STARVING TO DEATH AS ISRAEL’S BLOCKADE ON AID ENTERS THIRD MONTH
At least 57 Palestinians have starved to death as a result of Israel’s blockade on humanitarian aid entering Gaza, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office. Most of the victims were children, and the sick and elderly. According to a UNICEF statement published last week, more than 9,000 Palestinian children in Gaza have been treated for acute malnutrition so far in 2025.
Israel has totally blockaded Gaza from receiving any humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, and temporary shelters, for more than two months now in violation of international law. Last week the International Committee of the Red Cross warned that its humanitarian response in Gaza is on the verge of collapse as a result of the blockade and Israel’s breaking of the ceasefire. Less than two weeks ago, the World Food Programme also announced that it had run out of food as a result of the blockade.
🔑 KEY TAKEAWAY: In a statement, the ICRC expanded on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and Israel’s obligations to allow aid: “Under international humanitarian law, Israel has an obligation to use all means available to ensure that the basic needs of the civilian population under its control are met. If the blockage continues, programmes such as the ICRC common kitchens—which often provide the only meal people receive each day—will only be able to operate for a few more weeks…Without immediate action, Gaza will descend further into chaos that humanitarian efforts will not be able to mitigate.”
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz has repeatedly confirmed that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war, which is a war crime. Not only does Israel’s blockade violate its responsibilities under international law, but it also is a violation of US law–specifically Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act, which necessitates the immediate halt of weapons transfers in response to the obstruction of US-supplied humanitarian aid.
Members of Congress should exercise their oversight authority over weapons transfers and immediately halt all weapons shipments to Israel to comply with Section 620I.
Photo: Christopher Penler, via Shutterstock. Stock Photo ID: 2613152045