The Trump administration has renewed its persecution of current SIPA student Mohsen Mahdawi. Columbia University has looked away.

Mohsen Mahdawi came to the United States as a refugee. He built a life here, studying philosophy as an undergraduate at Columbia before returning to earn his master's degree at SIPA, and became a peace activist who spoke, organized, and advocated through every channel a democracy is supposed to protect. Last April, federal agents detained him for exactly that. After two weeks a judge authorized his release, finding he posed no danger and had substantial First Amendment and due process claims. His deportation proceedings were terminated in February. On April 29, the Board of Immigration Appeals reversed that decision. Mohsen's freedom is at risk again.

Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia SIPA graduate, was detained by ICE in March and held for 104 days in a Louisiana facility, separated from his pregnant wife, and made to miss the birth of his child. He has since been released on bail, but the legal fight is far from over: the BIA has issued a deportation order, and his case is now before the Third Circuit. He has not been charged with any crime. The government's theory is that his advocacy for Palestinian rights constitutes an adverse foreign policy consequence under a Cold War-era provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Throughout both ordeals, Columbia has been silent.

The University has offered no formal legal support, public advocacy, or institutional weight placed behind either man. That silence sends a direct message to every international student on this campus: the institution will not stand behind you when the government comes. Columbia's voice carries weight in public discourse and in courtrooms, and its representatives have a corresponding duty to use it.

Mohsen's case is not only about one student. Every green card holder, every student activist, and every person who has spoken critically about U.S. foreign policy is watching what happens here. The administration is using this case to test how far it can go. What Columbia does, or fails to do, holds enormous significance.

Commencement is days away. We are calling on Acting President Shipman to use it.

Shipman will stand before this community and speak about Columbia's values. We are asking her to mean it, to issue a public statement in support of Mohsen and Mahmoud before or at commencement on May 20 that makes clear Columbia will use its institutional voice to protect its students from politically motivated persecution.

Specifically, we ask that Columbia:

• Issue a public statement acknowledging by name the persecution of Mohsen Mahdawi and Mahmoud Khalil and affirming Columbia's commitment to protecting students from politically motivated federal immigration enforcement;
• Provide or facilitate legal and institutional support for Mohsen and Mahmoud;
• Commit to using its institutional voice whenever students face government retaliation for protected speech.

Send a letter before May 20.