BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A judge on Wednesday released a Palestinian man who led protests against the war in Gaza as a student at Columbia University and was arrested by immigration officials during an interview about finalizing his U.S. citizenship.

Outside the courthouse in Vermont, Mohsen Mahdawi led supporters in chants including “No fear” and “Free Palestine.” He said people must come together to defend both democracy and humanity.

“Never give up on the idea that justice will prevail,” he said. “We want to stand up for humanity, because the rest of the world — not only Palestine — is watching us. And what is going to happen in America is going to affect the rest of the world.”

The U.S. government has argued Mahdawi — a legal permanent resident for 10 years — was removable under the Immigration and Nationality Act. That's because Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined his presence and activities “would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences and would compromise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest,” according to his notice to appear in immigration court.

Mahdawi's lawyers say he was detained in retaliation for his speech advocating for Palestinian human rights. He cofounded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia with Mahmoud Khalil, another Palestinian permanent resident of the U.S. and graduate student who was detained by immigration authorities.

His attorneys say the government can appeal the release, but the judge has allowed him to leave his home state of Vermont and attend graduation next month at the Ivy League school in Manhattan. Mahdawi recently completed his coursework at Columbia and planned to begin a master’s degree program there in the fall.

U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford in Burlington, Vermont, issued his ruling Wednesday following a hearing on Mahdawi. He was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on April 14 and has been held at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans.

The government says his detention is a “constitutionally valid aspect of the deportation process” and that district courts are barred from hearing challenges to how and when such proceedings are begun.

“District courts play no role in that process. Consequently, this Court lacks jurisdiction over Petitioner’s claims, which are all, at bottom, challenges to removal proceedings,” Michael Drescher, Vermont’s acting U.S. attorney, wrote. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An immigration judge in Louisiana ruled that the government’s assertion that Khalil’s presence in the U.S. posed “potentially serious foreign policy consequences” satisfied the requirements for deportation.

According to a court filing, Mahdawi was born in a refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and moved to the United States in 2014. He was an outspoken critic of Israel’s war in Gaza and organized campus protests at Columbia until March 2024.

Outside the courthouse Wednesday, Mahdawi directly addressed President Donald Trump and his Cabinet, saying “I am not afraid of you.”

“If there is no fear, what is it replaced with?” he said. “Love. Love is our way.”