Since October 2023, Mohsen Mahdawi has been central to the Columbia University protest movement against Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip. On April 14, he was kidnapped by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at an appointment to apply for US citizenship in Vermont. He was released on April 30, with Judge Geoffrey Crawford saying, “The two weeks of detention so far demonstrate great harm to a person who has been charged with no crime.”

His illegal detention is part of a broader trend of ICE targeting organizers active in the Palestinian solidarity movement. In this interview, he tells Jacobin about his childhood in a Palestinian refugee camp, his time in prison, and his determination to continue in his activism.