As another Columbia Palestinian student faces deportation, anti-ICE 'Passover protests' held across US

On Monday evening, thousands of Americans staged protests in front of the offices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in cities across the US to protest President Donald Trump's growing crackdown on immigrants.

Multiple groups organised gatherings, including Jewish Voice for Peace, holding a Passover Seder in front of the ICE office in New York. The ancient holiday of liberation, in which Jews celebrate the exodus of Israelites from slavery, has been used as a protest ritual since the civil rights movements of the late 1960s.

"Passover, the festival of liberation, is part of our ancient Jewish tradition. This year we felt the need to protest for Palestinians," Jay Saper, an organiser with JVP, told The New Arab.

"They want us to be afraid, but instead we’re seeing thousands of people filling into the streets who are more committed to cry out," Saper added.

Monday's demonstrations come as another Palestinian green card holder, an activist from Columbia University, Mohsen Mahdawi, faces deportation.

According to the court filing, Mahdawi was born in a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank and moved to the United States in 2014. He recently completed coursework at Columbia and was expected to graduate in May before beginning a master's degree program there in the fall.

The petition describes him as a committed Buddhist who believes in "non-violence and empathy as a central tenet of his religion."

As a student, Mahdawi was an outspoken critic of Israel's military campaign in Gaza and organised campus protests until March 2024. He co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia with Mahmoud Khalil, another Palestinian permanent resident of the US and graduate student who recently was detained by ICE.

Since the Trump administration's crackdown on foreign students began in March, the number of detained foreign students is growing daily.

According to Inside Higher Ed, as of 14 April, more than 1,000 international students and recent graduates at more than 180 colleges and universities have seen their legal residency status changed by the State Department since the beginning of the year.

In addition to student protesters, the Trump administration has been sending Latin American immigrants to a notoriously dangerous prison in El Salvador, like the students many are being arrested without charges.

In New York City's Foley Square, located near a major ICE building, around 1,500 Jews of different ages and backgrounds observed the Passover Seder with rabbis while holding banners reading: "Come for one, face us all" and "Jews say: do not comply".

Throughout the week, Passover seders in front of ICE offices will be held in around 30 cities.

Meanwhile, members of the Palestinian Youth Movement also led protests in front of ICE buildings on Monday.

"The people demand that ICE stop its reign of terror, and for the Trump Administration to cease the predatory targeting of organisers and immigrants. We are ready to face this moment with courage and solidarity, together," said San Francisco Bay Area-based Rami Abdelkarim, a member of the Palestinian Youth Movement, said in a public statement.

"Mahmoud's case and all other cases show us that our just cause to stop the genocide in Gaza stands at the centre of the fight against fascism and for migrant and democratic rights in North America," he added.