US reinstates deportation proceedings against Mohsen Mahdawi

The US Board of Immigration Appeals has reinstated deportation proceedings against Palestinian student Mohsen Mahdawi, according to a court filing from his lawyers.

The move overturns an earlier decision by immigration judge Nina Froes, who had blocked the effort in February.

Mahdawi is a Columbia University student who was arrested last year after taking part in pro-Palestinian protests.

His lawyers said the judge had found the government had not met the burden of proof and had dismissed its evidence as inadmissible.

The case has immediate consequences for Mahdawi, who says the government is using immigration enforcement to target his advocacy for Palestinian rights.

In a statement shared by his legal team, he said he was being punished because of his peaceful advocacy and described himself as a stateless Palestinian refugee from the occupied West Bank.

The Board of Immigration Appeals is part of the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review.

Last month, Froes was fired by the Trump administration, though the filing cited by his lawyers says the appeals board has now reversed her ruling.

Mahdawi was arrested during an interview with Immigration and Customs Enforcement last year and was detained for two weeks without being charged with a crime, according to the supplied report.

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