WASHINGTON

Dozens of Democrats in the US House of Representatives sent a letter to the Trump administration to demand answers on the "illegal abduction" and arrest of a Palestinian student from Columbia University.

Becca Balint was joined by 67 lawmakers and sent a letter Wednesday to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to demand answers on Mohsen K. Mahdawi's arrest, and lobby for his immediate release.

Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident and former leader of the campus protest movement, was taken into custody Monday at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office in the state of Vermont.

"Americans may disagree on immigration policy, but we have always agreed that the Constitution guarantees people within our borders the most basic of rights including due process and free speech. This administration has ignored those fundamental rights in its horrific imprisonment of Mohsen K. Mahdawi," the lawmakers wrote.

They expressed "profound outrage" with the Trump administration’s continued disappearance of lawful residents of the US.

"If Mr. Mahdawi can be tricked into coming to a government office and then arrested for simply making statements that the Trump Administration does not agree with, every American is at risk," they said.

Mahdawi is the latest Palestinian student the Trump administration has targeted who was involved in pro-Palestinian organizing on US college campuses last year.

Stressing that Mahdawi has not been accused of a crime, the lawmakers said it is his right as a legal resident of the US to argue for what he believes in.

"Mr. Mahdawi’s arrest is immoral, inhumane, and illegal. With Mr. Mahdawi’s abduction, the Trump Administration continues to degrade America’s image on the global stage and descend the country further and further into authoritarianism," they added.

Mahdawi, like others who have been detained, including Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeyza Ozturk, has not been charged with a crime. Instead, the Trump administration is seeking to deport international students on claims they pose a threat to US foreign policy and national security.