Lia Ernst on the release of Columbia Student Mohsen Mahdawi

On April 14, Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi was arrested while attending his final citizenship interview at an immigration office in Vermont. He was detained over his pro-Palestinian beliefs. Yesterday, a Vermont judge ruled that he must be released as his two-week detention demonstrated "great harm". Lia Ernst, one of Mr. Mahdawi’s lawyers, joins Jen to give the state of play.

Lia Ernst is the Legal Director of the ACLU of Vermont.. She previously served as a judicial law clerk for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, a legal intern at the ACLU of Michigan, a legal fellow at the ACLU of Massachusetts, and an associate attorney for a small Michigan firm focused on criminal defense and attorney ethics.