A U.S. District Court judge in Vermont has ordered at least temporary protection for a pro-Palestinian protester.
ABC News reported that Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi now has the court's protection from being moved out of Vermont by federal immigration enforcement agents. He is the co-founder of the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia, along with Mahmoud Khalil, according to the report. Khalil has been detained by the government since March 8.
Judge Geoffrey Crawford said he issued his order to "prevent disputes" about jurisdiction "or any other issues that may arise in the case of involuntary movement of a petitioner between states," according to ABC.
The report said Khalil's attorneys told the judge that he is a permanent resident of the U.S. and has been attempting to become a U.S. citizen. He was arrested during a citizenship interview with the government.
The acting U.S. attorney supervising the government's case reportedly told the court he was not authorized to "justify" the extension of the temporary restraining order from the court to hold Mahdawi in Vermont. He also requested to be allowed to offer a response to Mahdawi's attorney's motion that Mahdawi be released from custody.
Mahdawi's detention was the focus of a protest at Columbia on Monday.