UUC’s chapter of UUs for Justice in the Middle East (UUJME) has endorsed a letter of support for Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi. In publicly taking this position, we join the national UUJME organization, the ACLU, and UU congregations and individuals across the country in advocating for immigrant justice, free speech, and the inherent worth and dignity of every person.

We encourage members of our beloved community to join us in signing the letter of support. 

Mohsen moved from Palestine to the United States in 2014, and attended Columbia University, where he co-founded Columbia University Apartheid Divest coalition, and the Palestinian Student Union. Like many students who have participated in actions for Palestinian solidarity, Mohsen has been targeted by the U.S. government for his work, under the guise of upholding immigration law. While attending what he thought to be a routine interview as part of the process to obtain U.S. citizenship, Mohsen was arrested and detained for over two weeks in a Vermont prison. He was later released on bail. 

In February 2026, a federal immigration judge dismissed the government’s attempt to deport Mohsen, but that ruling was overturned by the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals at the request of the Trump administration. In May 2026, another judge ordered that Mohsen be deported. Currently, Mohsen remains under imminent threat of deportation. 

The following is from the letter of support:

“Unitarian Universalists are diverse in faith, ethnicity, history and spirituality, but aligned in our desire to make a difference for the good. We have a track record of siding with love, justice, and peace and believe in the inherent dignity of all people.

When speaking about Mohsen, Rev. Karen G. Johnston, the Senior Minister at First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington said ‘Mohsen has been a Unitarian Universalist nearly as long as he has been a Vermonter; he is often heard naming both as part of his wide family whom he embraces and who embraces him. As UUs, we are enriched by Mohsen's spiritual depth, his moral courage, and his authentic commitment to Love at the Center and the possibility of universal healing through justice.’

As Nate Freed Wessler, deputy director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project said, ‘Mohsen should never have been detained for his speech, and a federal judge has already agreed. The government’s continued persecution of our client for his beliefs should send a chill down the spine of everyone in this country, because once we start allowing exceptions to the First Amendment for speech the current government doesn’t like, there’s no telling where the censorship will stop.’

As Unitarian Universalists, our foundational commitments rest upon values of pluralism, justice, inquiry and debate, and democratic freedom of expression for all people. It is these commitments that compel us to sign this letter of support and rally behind Mohsen Mahdawi in his defense against the administration’s attempts to use his case as a means to directly silence him and to set alarming precedents in our legal system.” 

The members of UUC's UUJME group believe that adding our support to this letter is a way of living out our congregation’s vision statement, “We will vocally and actively oppose injustice and stand in prophetic judgment of all that would diminish the equality and dignity of human beings or harm the web of life.” It is also a direct exercise of the following UU values:

           -Justice

           -Equity

           -Interdependence

           -Pluralism

           -Generosity

           -Love

Our signing supports UUJME’s mission to educate and mobilize individuals and congregations to recognize and counter inequality and injustice in Palestine and to support our allies in the global justice and anti-oppression movements. 

For questions or concerns, please contact Emily Joseph, co-chair of UUC's UUJME group.