New York, New York - Ahead of a high-stakes court hearing, Palestinian activist and Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi shared a powerful message of warning and hope as the Trump administration seeks his deportation.

"We stand here together under what we call a vigil, and what is a vigil for? A vigil is for mourning, and we mourn indeed. We mourn more than 60,000 Palestinians who have been murdered in the ongoing genocide that Israel is committing against my people," Mahdawi said outside the gates of Columbia on Monday.

"We mourn the consciousness of this university, the senior administration, the general counsel, and the board of trustees that has failed to protect its own community," he added.

Mahdawi was detained by ICE agents in April as he attended an interview to become an American citizen as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on noncitizen students who have taken a stand for Palestine.

The student organizer is out on bail after a federal judge ordered his release last spring.

Mahdawi criticized Columbia leadership for failing to protect him and other student activists who have exercised their right to speak out against injustice.

"The hope is still alive, and there is an opportunity for us to come together and to reclaim our university, to reform the governance in this university, to stand up for the principles and the values that we come to this university for and to stand up against any form of injustice, against tyranny, and against fascism," Mahdawi said.

"Our message has been very clear from the beginning, and we continue to say it, out loud and clear: Nobody can silence us, and nobody – nobody! – can make us surrender to fear and intimidation."

Mahdawi is scheduled to appear at the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York City on Tuesday.

A three-judge panel – consisting of two Donald Trump appointees and one George W. Bush appointee – is set to hear his case and that of Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk as the Trump administration appeals their release from detention.

Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia graduate student who was detained for over 100 days by the Trump administration before his release on bail, also joined Monday's vigil outside his former university, standing alongside Mahdawi one day before the hearing.

"Mohsen and I and other students, we know that this is not about us," Khalil said. "It's about the values that we stand for. It's about our opposition to genocide. It's about making an example out of us so that you fear speaking out."

"Maybe they will succeed in deporting us, but their goal is to silence you," he added.

"This is about all of us and the future of our humanity," Mahdawi said.