According to his attorney, immigration officials detained a pro-Palestinian demonstration organiser at Columbia University when he was there for an interview related to his US citizenship application.
In Colchester, Vermont, Mohsen Mahdawi, a green card holder who is scheduled to graduate from the institution in New York City next month, was arrested on Monday.
Mr. Mahdawi was arrested "in direct retaliation" for his involvement in anti-Israel-Gaza protests on campus, according to his attorney.
Other participants in anti-war demonstrations on campuses, such as Rumeysa Ozturk of Tufts University and Mahmoud Khalil of Columbia University, have also been arrested.
For further information on Mr. Mahdawi's situation, the BBC has gotten in touch with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Social internet footage purports to show two officers in police coats escorting him into a vehicle.
Luna Droubi, his attorney, stated: "Mohsen Mahdawi was jailed by the Trump administration as a direct result of his support for Palestinians and his Palestinian identity.
"Those who speak out against the horrors in Gaza are being silenced by his arrest. Additionally, it is unconstitutional.
To stop US immigration officials from removing Mr. Mahdawi from Vermont or expelling him from the country, the lawyer requested a temporary restraining order in a federal court.
That order was promptly issued by Obama appointment Judge William Sessions.
According to the court document, Mr. Mahdawi immigrated to the United States in 2014 after being born in a West Bank refugee camp.
"Non-violence and empathy as a central tenet of his religion" is how the philosophy major is described as a devout Buddhist.
Ms. Droubi says she does not know where Mr. Mahdawi, who has been a permanent resident of the United States since 2015, is.
Getty Pictures A demonstration at Columbia University in support of Palestine Getty Pictures
Mr. Mahdawi took part in Columbia University's pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
Mr. Mahdawi has been a vocal opponent of Israel's military campaign in Gaza and was a co-founder of Columbia's Palestinian Student Society.
In an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes show last December, he accused Israel of committing genocide, a charge it disputes.
The detention of Mr. Mahdawi coincides with the administration of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.
In an attempt to combat antisemitism on college campuses, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last month that at least 300 international students' visas had been cancelled.
Critics claim that US officials are infringing on students' freedom to free speech by wrongly accusing them of anti-Jewish hatred.
According to Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Mr. Mahdawi "was illegally detained by ICE during what was supposed to be the final step in his citizenship process" on X.
The senator stated that he "must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention" .
The case of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student at Tufts University in Boston who was detained by immigration officials last month, was also heard by Judge Sessions on Monday.
If the court ordered the student to be transferred from Louisiana jail back to Vermont, he asked whether the Trump administration would cause a "constitutional crisis" by refusing to release her.
Mahmoud Khalil's attorneys are presently contesting an immigration judge's decision from Friday that permits the government to deport him due to his national security threat status.
Last month, the protest leader from Columbia University was arrested outside his residence on campus and taken to a detention facility in Louisiana.
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