Share
The Intercept Briefing
Bait and Switch: Mohsen Mahdawi’s Citizenship Trap
In this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing, we examine the case of Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian student whose decadelong journey toward American citizenship ended not with the oath of allegiance, but in handcuffs.
On Monday, the Columbia student arrived at his long-awaited citizenship interview in Vermont. Instead, immigration agents arrested him, and he now faces deportation to the occupied West Bank.
Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., who represents his district, is outraged and told The Intercept Briefing, “If you'll deny due process from somebody who was in this country with a green card for 10 years, who is somebody who talked about peace and connection between Palestinians and Israelis who was looking to build bridges — if this man is somehow a threat to our society, then we are down a sick path.”
Mahdawi spoke to The Intercept the night before his fateful appointment and said he understood the risk he might be facing. He is now the ninth Columbia student targeted for deportation. The Trump administration has revoked or changed over a 1,000 student visas, according to Inside Higher Ed.
Mahdawi’s case exemplifies how immigration enforcement is being weaponized, says Balint. “ If they're so proud of what they're doing, then show your damn face, then show your ID. Then talk about what grounds you are holding this person. But it's being done in secret, and it is meant to shock and awe and to get the rest of us to remain silent. They have no evidence, they have no details, which is what we're demanding of both Secretary [Marco] Rubio and Secretary [Kristi] Noem."
Immigration lawyer Matt Cameron spoke to The Intercept about the broader implications of the administration’s agenda and said that this is much bigger than just students and immigrants. “ It's a message to student protesters obviously to start with, but it's a message to all of us that our free speech is a liability,” he warned.
Cameron pointed to the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was illegally deported to El Salvador and is now imprisoned despite no criminal record. The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered the government to facilitate his return, but so far, the administration has resisted. "This is going to be one of the most important cases of our lifetimes,” said Cameron. “ Even for people who don't think they're interested in following immigration issues: This is for all of us. And you know, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia will be all of us pretty soon here if we don't stay on our rights.”
More episodes
View all episodes
REBROADCAST: Trump’s Vision for America: I Am God
48:41||Season 2This week on The Intercept Briefing, we're re-sharing a conversation we first aired on March 7, 2025 – a conversation that’s only grown more relevant since it first aired. It’s a deep dive into the right-wing Christian ideologies shaping Donald Trump’s inner circle, featuring journalist and author of “Wild Faith,” Talia Lavin, and Intercept politics reporter Jessica Washington. As Trump consolidates power — with the backing of a hardline Congress and a Supreme Court increasingly aligned with his agenda — understanding the religious forces behind his movement is more important than ever.We’ll be back next week with a new episode.
TRAILER: Who’s the Real Bully of the Middle East?
00:54|This week on The Intercept Briefing, host Akela Lacy speaks to Iranian American author Hooman Majd about the Israel–Iran ceasefire, Trump’s role in escalating the conflict, and whether diplomacy can survive.Listen to the full episode of The Intercept Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
27. Who’s the Real Bully of the Middle East?
45:21||Season 2, Ep. 27A tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Iran announced Monday appears to be holding. President Donald Trump made the announcement after unilaterally dragging the U.S. into the conflict and authorizing strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites using 30,000-pound bunker busters. Israel attacked Iran on June 13, just days before Iran and the U.S. were set to resume talks in Oman over the country’s nuclear enrichment program.“ You don't have to be anti-war to understand that diplomacy in this case would've been better,” said Hooman Majd, an Iranian American writer and the author of three books on Iran. Majd is a contributor to NBC News and covered the 2015 Iran deal for the network. This week on The Intercept Briefing, Majd joins host Akela Lacy to discuss what's left of the path to diplomacy after years of sabotage, from Israel's aggressive military posture to Trump's withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal. You can hear the full conversation of The Intercept Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.TRAILER: The Disinformation Machine After a Murder
01:02|This week on The Intercept Briefing, host Jordan Uhl talks with journalists Taylor Lorenz and Akela Lacy about how online disinformation is distorting public understanding of major events — from political violence to immigration to potential war with Iran. In this chaos-driven ecosystem, the right — and Trump especially — know how to thrive.Listen to the full episode of The Intercept Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
26. The Disinformation Machine After a Murder
40:59||Season 2, Ep. 26In the wake of the political assassination of Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, prominent right-wing figures moved quickly to assign blame. Utah Sen. Mike Lee pinned the killings on “Marxism.” Elon Musk pointed to the “far left.” Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, said it “seems to be a leftist.”But the facts quickly told a different story: The suspect, 57-year-old Vance Boelter is a Trump supporter who held radical anti-abortion views. “There's an entire right-wing media machine aimed at pushing disinformation around breaking news events and specifically attributing violence to the left,” says Taylor Lorenz, independent journalist and author of “Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet.” “You see this over and over and over again, no matter who is perpetrating the violence.” “The reality is that the vast overwhelming majority of political violence in recent years has come from the right,” adds Akela Lacy, The Intercept’s senior politics reporter. “It basically treats that fact as if it's not real, as if it doesn't exist,” she says — a dynamic that then fails to address the root causes.This week on The Intercept Briefing, host Jordan Uhl talks with Lorenz and Lacy about how online disinformation is distorting public understanding of major events — from political violence to immigration to potential war with Iran. In this chaos-driven ecosystem, the right — and Trump especially — know how to thrive.You can hear the full conversation of The Intercept Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.You can support our work at theintercept.com/join. Your donation, no matter the amount, makes a real difference.TRAILER: Trump’s GI Joe-Cosplaying “Goon Squads” Sow Terror — and Solidarity
00:45|ICE agents are arresting day laborers and raiding businesses across the country. They didn’t expect community resistance. This week on The Intercept Briefing, Salvador Sarmiento, the campaign director and lawyer for the 70-member National Day Laborer Organizing Network, and Jonah Valdez, reporter for The Intercept joined host Jordan Uhl to discuss the wave of ICE operations sweeping Los Angeles that have sparked a week of protests and the militarized response from law enforcement. Attorney Isabella Salomão Nascimento also talks to us about our First Amendment right to protest. You can hear the full conversation of The Intercept Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
25. Trump’s GI Joe-Cosplaying “Goon Squads” Sow Terror — and Solidarity
52:12||Season 2, Ep. 25Across the country, demonstrators are preparing for a weekend of protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, Donald Trump's planned June 14 military parade, and Trump himself.Ground zero for these demonstrations is likely to be Los Angeles, where heavily armed ICE agents have carried out raids at churches, graduations, parking lots, and scores of other gathering spots recently.“ The level of armament that these guys are wearing is out of a GI Joe movie,” said Salvador G. Sarmiento, the campaign director and lawyer for the 70-member National Day Laborer Organizing Network. “It seems like the federal police is just driving around willy-nilly — dressed up as a goon squad — picking up people that they see on a street corner.” “The federal government [is] violently taking people from their work sites in military fashion,” added Jonah Valdez, reporter for The Intercept.This week on The Intercept Briefing, Sarmiento and Valdez joined host Jordan Uhl to discuss the wave of ICE operations sweeping Los Angeles that have sparked a week of protests and the militarized response from law enforcement.As people head to the streets again this weekend, protesters should be informed about their constitutional rights and safety options. The episode also features practical advice from attorney Isabella Salomão Nascimento.You can support our work at theintercept.com/join. Your donation, no matter the amount, makes a real difference.TRAILER: Democrats Hate Their Own Party. The People Can Take It Back.
00:55|Trump plays the working-class hero while Democrats cling to corporate donors. David Sirota, Jessica Washington, and Ilyse Hogue discuss how to turn the tide. You can hear the full conversation of The Intercept Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
24. Democrats Hate Their Own Party. The People Can Take It Back.
54:44||Season 2, Ep. 24At a recent rally at U.S. Steel in Pennsylvania, Donald Trump stood in front of a row of workers in hard hats and safety vests and proclaimed, “We're right now on the verge of passing the largest working class tax cuts in American history.” He framed his “Big Beautiful Bill” — a massive tax cut for the wealthy — as a blue-collar blessing. The sleight of hand is classic Trump, and what makes his appeal to voters enduring. “The Republican Party is building the multiracial working class coalition that the Democrats have always said that they want to build,” says David Sirota, founder of The Lever and a former Bernie Sanders speechwriter. This week on The Intercept Briefing, host Jordan Uhl speaks to Sirota and politics reporter Jessica Washington about how Trump has successfully used culture-war grievances to win over working-class voters, and why the Democratic Party continues to hemorrhage support.The episode also features Ilyse Hogue, the former president of NARAL Pro-Choice America and the co-creator of a new $20 million project called Speaking With American Men, or SAM. The initiative aims to understand — and win back — young male voters who’ve drifted to the right. “ A lot of what we heard from people is that they feel invisible to the Democratic coalition,” she says. You can hear the full conversation of The Intercept Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.