Trump Admin Nabs Another Alleged Pro-Hamas Student Protester

The Trump administration has apprehended another foreign national who led widespread student protests at Columbia University and defended the Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas terrorists.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents Monday arrested Moshen Mahdawi, a Palestinian who recently studied at Columbia University, according to court documents filed by attorneys. Mahdawi’s arrest marks the latest apprehension of a foreign student who engaged in anti-Israel demonstrations and alleged pro-Hamas activities while studying at one of the most elite colleges in the United States.

“Mr. Mahdawi was an outspoken critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and an activist and organizer in student protests on Columbia’s campus until March of 2024, after which he took astep back and has not been involved in organizing,” his lawyers wrote in a court filing Monday. 

“On April 14, 2025, Mr. Mahdawi was arrested and detained by agents from the Department of Homeland Security [DHS], despite the fact that he is a lawful permanent resident,” his attorneys continued. 

Born and raised in a “refugee camp” in the West Bank, Mahdawi moved to the United States in 2014, according to his attorneys. He most recently attended Columbia University and was planning to return for the Fall 2025 semester for a master’s degree. His lawyers further stated he’s been a permanent resident for ten years.

Mahdawi’s lawyers framed him as a peaceful organizer against Israel, describing him in court documents as a “committed Buddhist” who believes in non-violence and empathy. His legal team is accusing the Trump administration of violating his First Amendment right to free speech and called his arrest by ICE agents unlawful.

However, activities documented by groups that track anti-Semitism paint a far different picture of Mahdawi, compiling videos, interviews and social media posts that indicate he is sympathetic to Hamas and the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre of more than 1,400 people by Hamas terrorists.

The Canary Mission, which has amassed an extensive list of Mahdawi, highlighted an interview Mahdawi gave following the Oct. 7 attack in which he refused to condemn the massacre and instead said that Hamas “is a product of the Israeli occupation.” Canary Mission went on to document other alleged actions and statements by Mahdawi, such as celebrating a terrorist who murdered Israeli Jews in 1978 and serving as a leader of the pro-Hamas student encampment at Columbia University in 2024.

Amid the Israel-Hamas war, major universities across the U.S. became overrun with leftist student protesters sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. Largely at the center of these student protests was Columbia University, which experienced protesters so violent the university was forced to call the New York Police Department to make arrests.

Throughout 2024, anti-Israel protesters at Columbia illegally occupied campus property and became so aggressive that school officials were eventually forced to cancel in-person classes and even cancel its university-wide commencement ceremony.

President Donald Trump, at the time a candidate for re-election, expressed very little sympathy for school protesters engaging in unlawful behavior, declaring in May 2024 that he would crush the protest movement and deport foreign students involved in illegal activity if elected to the White House. Other politicians denounced the activity taking place at American campuses.

“There is no denying that Hamas sympathizers have embedded themselves in our educational institutions, from teachers down to the students,” Texas GOP Rep. Beth Van Duyne said in September 2024 in response to a social media post about Mahdawi’s alleged activities. “The fact that school administrators continue to ignore this is why antisemitism has been allowed to flourish across college campuses since October 7th.”

Immigration authorities arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a friend of Mahdawi and another leader of the anti-Israel protests at Columbia University, earlier in March and have kept him detained at a facility in Louisiana while his deportation challenge plays out in court. ICE agents have also detained Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national and researcher at Georgetown University, and arrested Leqaa Kordia, another  Palestinian from the West Bank, after her student visa expired and was previously arrested for her alleged participation in pro-Hamas activity at Columbia.

ICE referred the Daily Caller News Foundation to the State Department for comment on Mahdawi’s arrest. The State Department did not immediately provide a response in time for publication of this article.