On Wed, Apr 16, 2025 at 11:48 AM Gerry Gras <> wrote:
you probably know about this, buy just in case.
gerry
-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: Another Columbia activist arrested — tell Schumer and Gillibrand to speak up
Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2025 22:47:11 +0000
From: Stop AIPAC
Reply-To: team@citizensagainstaipac.com
To:
[https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fprod.cdn.everyaction.com%2fimages%2fvan%2fNGP%2fNGP61%2f1%2f114609%2fimages%2fCAAC%2520Color%2520Logo%2520Horizontal%2520without%2520Border.png&c=E,1,NHQgLOLb7AM_KhSs9YwJ7xz4WDOmOk-FnmyD9G3cLPq1UtKvR88D5wMORdP_a_YqmnE-LfIqZvM57uGd31tc4xBlcoPyIuAuv9wvnOoYCmrlLMA,&typo=1]
Gerald,
Yesterday, Palestinian Columbia University student and legal permanent resident Mohsen Mahdawi was handcuffed and detained by immigration authorities.
He was attending his final citizenship interview after doing everything he was supposed to do and living in the United States for 10 years.
[A screenshot of an ABC News article with the headline, “Columbia student arrested by ICE was one step away from citizenship, lawyer says.”]
Mahdawi arrived at a Vermont immigration office on Monday morning, expecting to complete the last step toward becoming an American citizen.
Instead, he was met by officers who arrested him without explanation, refused to disclose where they were taking him, and carted him away in handcuffs.
Mahdawis arrest follows Mahmoud Khalils, also a Palestinian activist who attended Columbia and is now being held at a detention center in Louisiana.
Both students co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia in the fall of 2023. These arrests are a pattern.
Mahdawis attorney, Luna Droubi, was unequivocal:
"Mohsen Mahdawi was detained by the Trump administration as a direct response to his advocacy for Palestinian rights and his identity as a Palestinian. This detention is an effort to silence those who voice opposition to the atrocities occurring in Gaza. It also violates constitutional rights."
The Trump administration is trying to silence immigrants who dare to speak out against the complicity of the United States in genocide.
And they will NOT stop there. Every one of us is at risk.
Citizens Against AIPAC Corruption is calling on Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to IMMEDIATELY denounce this pattern of targeting Columbia anti-genocide students and activists. As representatives of New York, they have a responsibility to protect the constitutional rights of all students.
The shameful truth is that Schumer and Gillibrand have been among the top recipients of AIPAC and pro-Israel lobby money, taking millions of dollars combined.
That means they face intense pressure from AIPAC to remain silent.
And they haven’t just remained "silent." Both have publicly condemned aspects of the protests, focusing on supposed lawlessness, antisemitism, and campus safety.
Neither has addressed concerns about the rights of pro-Palestinian students.
Thats why we are building to become STRONGER than AIPAC. This is no time for cowardice.
Please stand with us to demand immediate action. Your donation of $25, $50, $100, or any amount powers CAACs work to mobilize public response and defend free speech and due process in the face of this dangerous assault.
This is about more than one student. Its about the right to speak freely without fear of persecution, the promise of due process, and the principle that America welcomes those seeking a better life, regardless of where they were born.
While Mahdawi sits in detention for the "crime" of advocating for his people, we cannot and will not remain silent.
FREE PALESTINE.
For peace and justice,
The entire team at Citizens Against AIPAC Corruption
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