Mohsen Mahdawi, a 34-year-old U.S. permanent resident who was raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank, was detained during his April 14 naturalization interview in Vermont.

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the release of Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student from the West Bank, after Mahdawi spent more than two weeks in immigration detention following his abrupt arrest during a naturalization interview.

Mahdawi walked out of the Burlington courthouse to shouts and applause from supporters gathered on the sidewalk.