A federal judge has ordered US immigration authorities to release a Palestinian student detained at a citizenship interview earlier this month over his role in Columbia University’s Gaza protests, AFP reports.

Mohsen Mahdawi, who was slated for deportation, struck a defiant tone outside a courthouse in the northeastern state of Vermont.

“I am not afraid of you,” he said, addressing US President Donald Trump. “If there is no fear. What is it replaced with? Love, love is our way.”

In addition to challenging his removal, Mahdawi has accused the Trump administration of violating the US Constitution with its targeting of student activists.

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