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

A US immigration judge in February had rejected efforts by US President Donald Trump’s administration to deport the Columbia University student, who was arrested in 2025 following his participation in pro-Palestinian protests.

Ms Nina Froes, the Chelmsford, Massachusetts-based immigration judge who blocked the Trump administration's efforts to deport Mr Mahdawi, was fired in April.

The Board of Immigration Appeals, part of the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review, overturned Ms Froes’ decision.

Mr Trump alleges activists like Mr Mahdawi are antisemitic, support extremism and threaten US foreign policy.

Activists, including some Jewish groups, say the government conflates criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories with antisemitism, and advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism.

“The government continues to weaponise the immigration system to silence dissent,” Mr Mahdawi said in a statement shared by his legal team on April 6.

Mr Mahdawi, born and raised in a refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, was arrested in April 2025 upon arriving for an interview for his US citizenship petition.

He was released after two weeks in detention following a judge’s order and was never charged with...